Sonata of the Night
by LonelyWriter42
Summary: Hinata was banished from the Hyuga clan because of her relationship with Neji, now all she has is him. When he is wounded on a mission, his life hanging by a thread, who will she turn to? NejiHina.
1. Sunrise

Sonata of the Night

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Hinata was banished from the Hyuga clan because of her relationship with Neji, now all she has is him. When he is wounded on a mission, his life hanging by a thread, who will she turn to? NejiHina

Disclaimer: I have just realized a very sad fact: Naruto isn't mine. I'm going to go cry now.

* * *

**Chapter One: Sunrise**

The sunrise was one of the most beautiful that she had ever seen. She shivered as the sun hadn't yet brought its warmth yet. Warm arms wrapped around her middle.

"Why are you up so early? Come back to bed." Neji murmured in her ear. "The bed is lonely without you. And cold."

"Hum. I wanted to watch the sunrise. It had been raining all night so there were clouds in the sky," it grew harder to remember what she was talking about as Neji had started kissing her neck. "It was a pretty sunrise. You should have watched it with me." She managed to get out.

"I need twelve hours of beauty sleep every night or I'm cranky." Neji's voice was muffled against the skin of her neck. "Hadn't you noticed?"

"I noticed that you use the beauty sleep excuse all the time. It's getting old. Think up a new one."

"How about I'm kept up all night by Konoha's most beautiful woman, one of the most beautiful woman ever."

The blood rushed to her face at his suggestion. "Neji! Don't ever say that to anyone! What we do in private is private and not for anyone else to hear!"

His laugh sounded in her ear as he pulled her back toward the bed. "You're right. No one else needs to know what we're doing. They all have imaginations, don't they? They can think stuff up on their own."

"I don't see why you have to be the one to go. Isn't there any other jonin that can go?" She angrily sat Neji's breakfast in front of him.

"Hinata, it's an honor for me to be given such a mission. You should be happy for me." He said scarfing down his food.

"Yes, I'll be happy when you come back dead." She replied sarcastically.

"Hinata," he moaned. "I have to do this. We could really use the money. Especially if we're going to have a baby."

"I'm not pregnant."

"Yet. Maybe you are and you just don't know it yet." He pressed his hands against her belly. "If you're in there, little one, I'm your dad. Take care of your mom while I'm gone. I love you, both." He stood and kissed her. "Be safe while I'm gone?"

She nodded, unshed tears in her eyes.

"Good." He kissed her one last time, gently rubbed her stomach and left her all alone.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Three weeks! Why couldn't you have chosen a mission that takes three days? Three weeks!" Hinata grumbled.

After Neji left Hinata had thrown herself into cleaning the small apartment. When she was done with what was probably the deepest cleaning that it had ever seen she had tackled trying to arrange the piles of stuff laying on the furniture "Neji, do you have to drop things wherever you feel like it? It looks like we live in a pigpen."

She continued grumbling about the messes everywhere but it didn't take her long to put everything away. _'Now what?'_ She thought as she observed the tiny apartment. She started giggling as she looked around._ 'It looks like a person with a perfection complex lives here_. _Not much more can be done here unless I polish the floor. Not a half bad plan as it probably hasn't been done since the original tenant moved in_.'She started going through her cleaning supplies. _'Don't have any floor polish. Have to get some_. _'Anything else I need while I'm_ _out?'_ She looked around. _'Nope.'_ She grabbed some money out of the spare stash and headed out the door.

The sunshine had warmed the day to a pleasant temperature, fighting off the cold that had lingered so long. _'Winter is over and hopefully the spring will bring new beginnings.'_ The streets weren't very crowded as she made her way to the store. She entered and got her polish, then started browsing what they had to offer. She stopped next to a rack of magazines looking to see what was gossip worthy this week. Not seeing anything note worthy she wandered away. Before she knew what she was doing she found herself in front of a display that she was very familiar with. She stared at it for a while before finally grabbing a box. She quickly made her way to the front of the store and paid for her purchases.

By the time she got outside the street was buzzing with people. She tried to ignore the looks she was given. She knew that people thought her life more interesting than the magazines she had been looking at earlier. _'If they really knew me, they would know that I'm rally boring_._'_ She thought as she made her way down the street she lived on. _'The only exciting thing happening to me today is making my apartment look like I have OCD. Wouldn't my father love that?'_ Chuckling to herself, she entered her home. Putting the bag on the table, she pulled the box out. Opening it, she drew out a slender tube. Ignoring the instructions, as she already knew what to do, she took the test.

In an attempt to get her mind off what might be waiting when the test was complete, she threw herself into polishing every surface she could find. Finally she decided that she couldn't wait anymore, she entered the bathroom. Taking several deep breaths she slowly picked up the cylinder. She turned it over and a wave of relief mixed with gilt washed over her as her brain took in what it said. "Sorry, Neji. Not this month." The gilt intensified as she heard the relief in her voice. The small blue haired girl sighed. "I do want a baby, but we're not ready. We live in a tiny apartment; we're barely scrapping by as it is. We're not ready to have a baby." The argument sounded weak in her ears. Sighing again she made quick work of cleaning the bathroom. With the apartment shining she tackled doing the laundry. It took even less time to do than cleaning had. Afterward she made a lonely meal for one, and then tried to decide what to do. It was still early for bed but she had nothing better to do.

"This is what you get when you break the rules, Hinata. If only you had listened to me in the first place then none of this would have happened," her father's voice whispered in the dark. She buried her head in her pillow and tried not to think. Unbidden and unwanted memories flashed in front of her eyes. Her father's face, then her sister's both with disappointed looks on their faces.

"Why, Hinata? Why did you do this? What are you trying to prove?" Hanabi yelled.

"You always were a disappointment as a daughter, but I never would have thought that you would swoop so low."

"The girl is obviously unable to make a sane decision. We will have to make one for her."

"No!" Hinata screamed. "Just stop. Please," she held her head in her hands, rocking back and forth. "None of you know what I want. Just leave me alone. Just leave me alone. Neji," she moaned. She sat there clutching her head well past the time that everyone else in Konoha would be up. Eventually sleep claimed her but not before she revisited the worst day of her life in her dreams.

It was two weeks later and she was still haunted by the dreams of that day, her sleeping patterns all out of wack; so when a loud sound came from the hallway of her apartment building she suddenly sat up in bed then fell backwards.

"Wha..." The indigo haired girl moaned. She rolled over and looked at the clock. Her sluggish brain told her that it was 8:30. "Un," she rolled back onto her side, and then the time hit her. "8:30?" She screeched. "I've got to get out of bed! Shino and Kiba will think that I'm a lazy no show!" She jumped out of bed with a thud which was in synch with the beats coming from the entrance hall. Hinata dressed quickly, wondering what her teammates were going to say when she got to the training grounds. "I've never been late before. Oh what is Kiba going to say? Hopefully he and Shino are arguing and won't notice me getting there..."

Hinata yanked open the front door while battling with her keys. She was so distracted that she almost ran into the person standing at her door.

"Hinata Hyuga?" The person exclaimed.

"Yes?" Hinata looked at the person, recognizing the uniform of a hospital orderly. "What do you need?"

"Early this morning Neji Hyuga was brought to the hospital in critical condition. He was calling your name over and over. The Hokage told me to come find you and bring you to her."

Hinata stared blankly at the orderly, her mind not comprehending his words.

"Hyuga-san? Are you all right? Do you need to sit down?"

"Neji? He was injured?"

"Yes, Hyuga-san. The Hokage is seeing to him personally. Will you follow me?"

Hinata nodded blankly and follow the orderly, mindlessly locking the door and putting the keys in her pocket.

The hospital was a buzz with activity when they arrived. She saw many people with pitying looks on their faces as she was lead to a part of the hospital that she had never been in. Tsunade was standing in front of a sweeping window that overlooked a large room. As the Fifth turned to look at the one time Hyuga heiress, Hinata thought she could see sympathy in the woman's eyes, but by the time the young woman got to the Hokage's side Tsunade was all business.

"Hinata, I'm not going to sugar-coat this. Neji only has a twenty percent chance to live and every hour that he doesn't respond to the treatment the percentage goes down even more. We've been working on him for hours with no improvement." The Hokage's eyes went back to the window. "Hinata, as the only family member that actually has any contact with him, the decision as to what we do next is up to you."

Hinata stared at the Hokage, her mind blank.

"Hinata? We need your decision now or we will stop treatment."

"Is Neji really dying?" She whispered.

The sympathetic look came back to Tsunade's eyes but her mouth remained pressed in a thin line. "Hinata, do you want us to continue treatment or do you want us to make his as comfortable as we can and let him die in peace?"

Hinata's eyes widened at Tsunade's question. "Neji can't die. We still have to get married, have ten children, grow old together. Neji, you can't die! NEJI!" Her scream echoed off the walls and stayed long after Tsunade had put her arm around the young woman's shoulders and nodded at the orderly that had come up to her.

"Hinata, we are doing everything we can to save him. All you can do is be here, supporting him. I know that this is hard but we all have been in a position that forces us to make difficult choices. I'll try my hardest to make sure that Neji lives through this."

The hours went by slowly, and it was enough to make Hinata want to scream. Every half hour or so an orderly would come and check on her, once Tsunade had came back and reported that, while Neji wasn't out of danger yet, they had been able to stabilize him and would be moving him to a regular room.

"I hate hospitals," she muttered as she paced the length of the room. "They smell weird, the people who work here are weird, the food is gross; Neji why did you do this to me? You know I hate hospitals." She dropped down into the chair that had been provided for her and gently took his hand in her own. "Please, Neji. Don't lave me. You promised that you would never leave me. Give me some sign that you can hear me. Show me that you aren't going to leave me all alone. Please."

Tears started to blur her vision and she thought she was him move, but she knew it was a false hope.

The days dragged on with no improvement in Neji's condition. Hinata had taken up residence in his hospital room and was left alone for the most part. The only excitement had come in the form of Gai and Lee, but not even having Konoha's goofiest ninja that had cheered her up for long. Tenten as just stood in the doorway, not looking at her former teammate laying on the bed or the woman who sat beside him. Hinata was sure that Tenten hated her, but didn't care. The brown haired woman had had her chance with Neji and it hadn't worked out, much to Tenten's displeasure.

Team Gai only stayed for a few minutes and visitors were only given five minutes in the intensive care ward. Their departure had left a gapping hole in the atmosphere of the room almost making her gag. She tried to open the window but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, she went into the hallway. The lights had been dimmed, telling her that visiting hours were over. She started wandering aimlessly, not quite sure where she was going. Finally she found herself in front of a large window, looking into a room that had four rows of five beds lined up.

She noticed that several of the beds were empty. "Konoha not on a baby boom?" She whispered, then she jumped, the sound of her own voice startling her. She was about to turn away when one of the infants started crying. She stood rooted to the spot, her eyes large and vacant.

"Is on of them yours?" A voice beside her whispered.

Hinata turned to see a nurse standing there. "No." She choked out. _'I only wish.'_

"Are you lost? Can I help you find you room? Ma'am?"

As the world started swimming around her, she tried unsuccessfully to grab the window ledge. She seemed to be falling in slow motion, the world swirling around. She thought she heard someone call her name before she fell unconscious, but she knew it was wishful thinking. Everybody she had once known had turned their backs on her.

"We should run a couple of more tests just to make sure that she's all right, but the fainting was probably brought on by exhaustion."

"She also looks malnourished." Another voice said dryly. "Maybe you could devote a couple of minutes to getting some food for her. She should be waking up soon."

Hinata stirred, trying to figure out what the voices were talking about. She tried to sit up but her muscles didn't respond. Panic stirred in her as she realized that she was laying in a hospital bed. Memories of the last time she was in the hospital resurfaced, causing adrenalin to give her the strength to jump out of the bed. She ran to the door and jerked it open, running into several people in the hallway, always just out of reach of their hand that tried to grab her. She ran until her sides hurt, not seeing where she was going. She ran out a door into the sunlight and propped herself up against it.

"Hinata?" One of the voices from her dream asked. A breeze came, making her cold and want to bolt again. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she slowly turned toward the voice and was shocked to see Sakura Haruno-Uchiha standing there.

"Sakura?" The confusion in her face was clearly stated with her voice. "What are you doing here? Why are you talking to me? Didn't you hear that I was banished from the Hyuga clan? No self-respecting person would want to talk to me. I'm nobody, nothing. You should leave before someone sees you talking to me." She turned to go but was stopped by Sakura's abrupt laugh.

"Well, to answer your first question, I work here. To answer the second, I work here and you are one of my patients. The third, I heard a rumor but I don't usually put much stock in the rumor mill. If I listened to it, I'm married to my illegitimate half-brother, or am seven months pregnant even though I've only been married for six months. Anyway, I know the rest weren't questions, but my answer is why would I not talk to you? You are a Kunoichi of Konoha just like me and I happen to like talking to you. But I do have to ask why did you run up here to the roof? We should go back inside."

Hinata shook her head, for the first time taking in her surroundings. '_The roof. Why did I come up here?'_ She glanced at the ledge. _'Is that why I came up here? No. Neji_ needs _me_ _even if everybody else forgot about me._' She thought.

"Hinata? You really should go inside. Actually, I came to find you because I heard that Neji was in the hospital and was pretty bad. How are you holding up? Are you okay?" Sakura's voice which sounded happy a moment ago became confused as Hinata started hyperventilating. "Hinata?"

"I hate hospitals," Hinata whispered. "They make me feel nauseous."

"Maybe there is something else making you nauseated. We should go back inside and figure out what it is." Sakura made to take Hinata's arm but she was pushed away.

"I just want to stay up here for a while, until I'm felling better." Hinata mumbled, siding down until she was sitting. She took deep breaths in and out, trying to settle her churning stomach.

Sakura gracefully sat down next to her. "Well, so you want to talk or do you need a shoulder to cry on, or do you just want to sit in silence?"

"Why are you talking to me? There is nothing special about Hinata Hyuga other than she's the biggest idiot walking the face of the earth." The indigo haired young woman closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Why do you say such mean, degrading things about yourself Hinata? I don't believe any of those things." Sakura said softly.

"Because I am the biggest disappointment that the Hyuga has ever suffered. Silly little Hinata can't do anything without someone else holding her hand and telling her what to do. That was my whole life, Sakura. Nobody ever acknowledged my presence until Neji." She stopped and gave a strange sounding giggle. "You know the clan had it all wrong. I wasn't sleeping with him. That Hinata would have been horrified of the very thought, let alone the act itself. No, Neji was in my room for completely innocent reasons. I had just collapsed on the training grounds and he brought me back to my room. It was impulse that made him kiss my forehead, but that was our undoing. An innocent, simple action that got him exiled and later led to me being stripped of my title of Heir to the Hyuga clan. Father got what he always wanted; Hanabi is now his heir, the only daughter he acknowledges he has." She sighed. "I'm boring you with my story."

"No. You needed to tell it to someone and I'm here, Hinata. Whether or not you tell me is your choice." Sakura smiled. "Whatever you decide, I'm right here."

Hinata felt a sight spark of hope awaken in her. "I would like to tell you my story if you want to listen. It will be good to get it off my chest, and I apologize in advance if I start crying my head off. It's not a pleasant story, but maybe it will have a happy ending after all. It started one afternoon when Neji and I were training in the dojo..."


	2. Secrets

Sonata of the Night

Disclaimer: I don't have a good one thought up so I'll just say, I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. The teme.

**Chapter Two: Secrets**

The training grounds at the Hyuga compound rang with the sounds of kunai and shuriken. Grunts could be heard, the two occupants of the main dojo both nearly at their limits.

Hinata stood hunched over, her hands on her knees as she tried to decide what Neji's next move would be. "Byakugan," she said, activating her kekkei genkai. The Hyuga Heir straightened up, her breaths coming out in short gasps as she tracked Neji with her eyes. He took a side step to the left so she went right. They started circling each other, both exhausted. Neji feigned a strike to the right side but Hinata saw though it. She made to give a strike of her own but her body had finally had enough. She fell in slow motion, Neji's eyes bugging as she dropped to the ground.

"Hinata!" Neji exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Are you alright?"

"Water," the indigo haired young woman moaned, rolling into her back. Neji gave a sharp nod then ran to where they had set their water bottles earlier in the day, glad to find that they were still cool.

"Here," Neji whispered as she handed her the bottle. Hinata sat up and drank greedily, emptying the bottle within seconds. Sighing, she lay back down and closed her eyes.

Neji looked over her with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked again.

"Neji-nii-san shouldn't have pushed Hinata so hard." She whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Hinata," he groaned.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Neji takes with I say to literally. He should try to loosen up no and again, or else he will get wrinkles way before he's twenty," she teased.

"I take the fact that you are teasing me as a sign that you are okay," he said, smiling at her as he helped her into a setting position. "Do you think that you can walk?"

"I don't know. My body feels like jelly." She mumbled.

"C'mon, you know you want to stand up. Please, Hinata?" Neji coxed.

"Yeah, I can stand. Just give me a minute." She sighed.

"Where do you want to go? Your room or the bath house?" He asked.

"My room, please. I just want to lay down for a bit." She pressed her hand against her knee in an effort to stand up but couldn't.

"Here, support your weight against me," he pulled her to her feet and draped her arm over his shoulder, his arm going around her waist. "Oomph. You've been putting on weight behind my back?" He joked as they slow walked out of the dojo.

"Of course. All I eat is junk food and I never exercise." She moaned, listening to Neji's laugh as he supported her awkwardly against him as they entered the main house and slowly went towards her room. As soon as they made it there, Hinata felt a wave of darkness come over her. She grabbed Neji's arm, unsettling him and causing him to land on top of her on her bed.

"This is awkward," he said, trying to get a response out of her.

"Uh hu," she murmured, clenching his arms as a headache assaulted her.

"Oh, Hinata," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'm sorry that you are in pain."

"I'm okay," she whispered. "I just need some tea and a shower and I'll be good as new."

"If you say so." He made to get up but was stopped by her grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Stay awhile longer, please?" She pleaded.

"Hinata, I don't think..." He muttered then was stopped by her mouth pressed to his. He knelt there, his mind shutting down as sensations that he had never felt ran through his body; then the realization that Hinata was very much a female and he was definitely male assaulted him.

"What is going on here?" Hiashi's voice broke Neji out of his thoughts. "NEJI! Why are you straddling my daughter?! Get out of my sight this instant!"

Neji's eyes widened then he jumped back away from Hinata and rushed out the door.

"Father," Hinata whispered, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Hinata, to your feet." Hiashi growled.

She moved to sit up but stopped as the room started spinning. "My head," she moaned, bracing her hands on the mattress as she got into a sitting position. "Dad, Neji wasn't doing anything wrong. I had just blacked out and he fell on top of me. Nothing happened." She looked up and saw the look on his face. Her eyes widened as she said, "Dad you've got to believe me! Neji wasn't doing anything!"

"I've seen that look on many a young man's face, Hinata. He wasn't intending to do '_Nothing_'. Just be glad that I came to see if you were ok after you're sister came screaming to me saying that you had collapsed." Hiashi closed his eyes, the expression on his face saying that he was having an internal argument. "Hinata," he said, opening his eyes, a hard look in them, "I am forbidding you from seeing Neji. I know that he has been your training partner but your sister is just as good. You may train with her or me and that is it." With that pronouncement Hiashi left, leaving a very confused Hinata behind.

'_I can't see Neji? But it was father that encouraged the two of us to spar, to train together! What is going on with my father?'_ Hinata thought as she lay back down, her hand going to her forehead. _'Oh, my head hurts. I just want to take a nap._'

She lie on her bed for a long time after, replaying the day's events in her mind, trying to figure out what her father had been so upset over. Finally exhaustion took over. Her last thoughts before she fell unconscious were that she should go see Neji and ask him about what her father had said.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Wake up, Hinata!" Hanabi's voice combined, with the fact she was shaking her older sister, jolted Hinata into wakefulness.

"Hanabi?" Hinata asked sitting up. "Why? Oh, my head."

"Father wants to talk to you. He has called a council meeting." Hanabi said.

"The council? What for?" Hinata forced herself to her feet and started grabbing various clothing items as she quickly changed.

"Father is going to bring Neji up on charges that he was compromising the Heir of our clan. Is it true, Hinata? Did Neji do something to you?"

"Of course not!" Hinata huffed as she tried to put on her sock. "Why would Neji do anything like that? This is ridiculous!"

"Tell that to the council." Hanabi said.

"You aren't going?" Hinata asked, forcing her foot into her zori.

"I'm not the Heir. Why would they want me there?" Hanabi asked.

"You are a member of the main household. Isn't that enough?"

"You know it isn't. But I will walk with you to the council chambers."

Hinata glanced at herself in the mirror and decided that there wasn't much she could do to make herself more presentable.

"Come on, Hanabi. We don't want to be late." They quickly navigated the corridors of the house, making it to the meeting room within five moments. Hanabi gave her older sister a smile then disappeared down the hallway as Hinata squared her shoulders and entered the room. Twenty heads turned toward her as her father nodded at her.

"Hinata. You have been summoned here to testify at the trial of Neji Hyuga." Hiashi said, motioning for her to sit.

"Where is Neji if this is his trial?" Hinata asked sarcastically.

Her father gave her a withering look before stating the charges against the Hyuga protégée. "Hyuga Neji is on this day charged with the assault of a main house member, injuries to her body, withholding proper treatment of her injuries, intent to harm her again, being in the room of the Heir without permission, compromising her and then attempting to rape of the Heir of the clan. Do the gathered hear the charges?"

"Aye." The council said in one voice.

"The punishment is banishment from the Hyuga, the charged not being able to set foot on Hyuga land ever again. Do all agree with the sentence?"

"Aye."

"It's about time we got rid of that fake heir scum," one of the members said loud enough for all to here, while several other of the council members had smug looks on their faces while others looked appalled that a branch house servant even try such a thing. Still others had confused looks on their faces.

Finally one of the councilman, Yashiro Hyuga, that was responsible for several plots of land that the Branch family lived on, a man that was know to have sympathy for them, spoke. "Hiashi-sama, why are you having a trail without the accused present?"

The room was quiet for several seconds as his words were taken in, then the room exploded into several arguments.

"That boy was trouble since the day he was born." Akemi Hyuga said.

"Hiashi, why have you allowed that boy to remain in our house?" Akihiko Hyuga questioned.

"Even if he _is_ Hizashi's son, he has no rights in the Main house compound!" Yet another, Chokichi Hyuga, yelled.

"He is getting what he deserves!" Kumakichi Hyuga called.

"Maybe the boy had innocent intentions and the Heiress herself is the one that started this?" Hiashi's great uncle and oldest council member, Hachigoro, said smugly.

"They boy is of the Royal line even though he is of the branch family." His neighbor, Masuo protested.

"That boy will be our downfall!" Akemi said.

"He possesses the most powerful Byakugan of all. How can we banish him?" One of the younger councilmen, Gen, asked.

"Even if he does, he can't be heir!" Hachigoro hissed.

"But maybe this is the opportunity to draw his blood into the Royal line again. He has shown by his actions that he doesn't mind our homely Heiress." Yashiro reminded them.

"Exactly my point!" Gen said.

"That boy is as rogue as his father! How can you expect to control him?" Hachigoro glared at the younger man.

"But his blood will stabilize the weak blood of the Heiress." Gen protested.

"You have only been a member of this council for four months!" Hachigoro growled. "How would you know anything about what we are trying to do?"

Hinata glanced at her father and saw that his eyes were closed as he listened to all that was being said. _'How much longer are you going to let them do this, Father? You always looked to Neji as if he was your son. Will you allow him to be banished? Will I be allowed to speak in his defense?'_

The hearings drug on, several arguments were heard as to whether or not he should just be banished from coming into the main household or the entire Hyuga clan.

"He should be allowed to stay in the branch house. His mother is still there." Yashiro said.

"Attempting _anything_ with the Heiress is worthy of death!" Hachigoro hissed. "Even if the Heiress herself is not worth anything."

"The Heiress is still the Heiress even if she is weak." Masuo glanced sideways at Hinata.

"She will be united with a man that will serve our clan as the de facto head." Hachigoro said. "Her rein will only be as long as it takes for her child to be old enough to be Head."

"And this boy, Neji, will provide to be the best candidate for producing a child." Gen replied.

"That boy should not even be allowed to look at a Main house member!" Akemi glared at Gen.

"But his Byakugan are so much stronger than any of ours!" Gen protested.

"Yes, we have established that fact. The boy is powerful, but power in the hands of a branch house boy will be the downfall of the Hyuga clan that has been here _for hundreds of years_!" Hachigoro yelled.

Hinata sat there, a pit opening up in her stomach and growing larger and larger with every argument. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. "Was I not called here to testify?"

All the heads in the room turned toward her and she could even hear their thoughts. _'Women are to be seen, not heard. Even though you are the Heir, you aren't Head yet._'

Hiashi turned toward her and studied her face before nodding his head once, tight lipped. "Hinata-sama was called her to state her side of the story. I will let her speak."

All eyes came to her face. She swallowed hard then began. "We had been in the main training dojo when I collapsed. Neji was helping me to my room were I tripped and took him down with me. He was trying to untangle himself when Father came in. Nothing happened between us. It was completely innocent." She bowed her head and an explosion of words erupted from the assembly. A confusing rumble was heard as all spoke at once. Finally it was all over and Hiashi had reached his final decision over Neji's fate.

"Hyuga Neji will be allowed in the homes of branch family members as long as he doesn't live within the compound. That is my final judgement. You are all dismissed." Hiashi pronounced.

One of the councilmen tried to protest but one look from Hiashi silenced him. Hiashi stood and the rest of the council followed, leaving Hinata to sit there in her shock.

'_Neji-nii-san is banished? How did this happen? Why Neji?' _ She thought as she slowly got to her feet. She saw the boy that had recorded everything the council had said. _'He's probably going over to Neji's.'_ She thought. _'It might be a good idea to follow him. But first...'_ Hinata deliberately ran into the boy, sending his stacks of paper flying. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy. Please forgive me!" She exclaimed.

"It's okay, Hinata-sama." He said, bowing then bending to pick up the papers.

"Oh, let me help you!" She cried. Spying the paper she had been looking for, she knelt down and quickly moved it under her robe. Hinata pulled all papers within reach into a tidy pile and handed them to the boy. "I truly am sorry."

"It's okay, Hinata-sama. Thank you for helping me clean up." The boy bowed his head then stood. "I'd better get these to Neji-san right away. He'll want to know his fate." Grinning at her, the boy ran out the door.

Hinata sat on the floor until she had counted to ten then she slowly stood up and went out the door at a leisurely pace, the paper she had kept hidden clenched in her hand. She was vaguely aware of the location of Neji's apartment but wasn't quite sure where it was. "Good thing that boy knows where it is or I would have been lost by now." She muttered as she rounded a corner and saw the boy on the fourth floor balcony. He gestured at something then bowed, the door he had been standing at closing as he left. Hinata hid from the boy as he passed then whispered, "Now all I have to do is talk to Neji."

Suddenly she wasn't feeling so good and she knew that Neji might no want to see her but she was determined to see him and tell him that she had stood up for him at the council meeting. Gritting her teeth she went up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Hinata!" Neji's eyes bugged when he opened the door and saw her standing there.

"The boy lost a paper." She whispered, holding it up. "I came to give it to you."

"Won't you got in trouble for being here?" He asked, leaning on the doorframe.

"Not if they don't know that I'm here." She said softly.

Neji grinned and opened the door wider to let her through. "Welcome to my castle. It's cheep and doesn't smell. Over all I give it a six out of ten compared to other places I looked at."

"It's cozy," she said looking around as the door clicked shut behind her.

"Hinata, why are you here? It's not like you to wonder around Konoha, especially dressed in a kimono." Neji asked.

"I came to apologize to you, Neji. This is all my fault." She kept her head bowed as she spoke, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"Your fault?" He took a step toward her. "You should listen to your father more, Hinata. I think it's time for you to leave." He placed his hand under her chin and raised her head so she was looking him in the eye.

"Listen to my father more," she repeated, her eyes glassing over. "Do you like me, Neji?" She asked, closing the distance between them.

"Hinata, I've been in love with you since I first saw you the day you turned three." He said then his eyes widened as he realized what he had admitted.

"My third birthday, hun?" She pulled back so she could look into his face.

"Yes," he murmured. "I've been trying to suppress these emotions but recently it's been getting more and more difficult. Your father is right. You should stay away from me." Neji closed his eyes but not before Hinata saw the pain and sadness in them. And the longing.

"Maybe, just maybe I've been as starved for love as you, Neji. Maybe I understand what you're going through." She shook her head. "And maybe I don't want to be alone any more either."

"Hinata, don't say such things. You are going to make me do something that we'll both regret later. I can't promise that I won't make you mine in every way." He took her in his arms and pressed his forehead against hers. "You should go, Hinata."

"I don't want to leave. I like Neji's company, his friendship, and I wouldn't mind his love, either." She whispered as she lifted her lips to his. For an instant she thought that he would allow her to stay, but then she felt his tense and push her away.

"You should leave, Hinata. This is my fate. I don't want it for you, too. Go home and stay innocent of this world."

Defiance surged through her. "Maybe I don't want to be that girl! Maybe I want more for my life, Neji! I don't want to be silly little Hinata any more! I want to be taken seriously!" She clenched her hands in fists as she silently went to the door. "You need to decide if you want that too, Neji. And if you do, you know were to find me." She wordlessly went out the door and was almost to the stairs when his hand gripped hers.

"You aren't making this easy on me, are you?" His voice was alight with dry humor, almost laughing at her. "What are we going to do now? I'm banished, Hinata, and you are the Heir to the clan. I'm sure that they would approve of our relationship." This time his did laugh, but it was brittle. "I'm quite sure that they banished me so we could start going out. This is going to be hard to hide and pretty soon your father will figure out what we're doing. He'll probably banish you, too, and then what? What will we do then, Hinata? Obviously you didn't think this through or you would have realized that us being together is impossible. As much I don't want to say that, it's the truth."

"Maybe I fell asleep at the meeting and missed the fact you are banished and maybe the papers they sent to you haven't made it to you yet. We can still be together, if only for one night, Neji. That's all I ask. One night." She looked up into his eyes, pleading.

"And what happens when your father tries to marry you off? You'll have to tell them that you aren't pure. I couldn't be the cause of the embarrassment, Hinata. I'd rather die than cause you pain."

"But I'm the one that wants you to so this, Neji. I'm the one to blame. Not you."

"Hinata," he growled and she thought that he was going to make her leave. But instead he drug her back to his apartment. "Do you know how long I've wanted to make you mine? How long I've suffered with the thought that you can't be mine and suddenly here you are, ready and willing? You know what you are doing to my self-restraint? And your outfit. I'm quite sure that all I would have to do is pull on that sash and your body would be mine to see." He pulled her into his arms, burying his face on the nape of her neck. "Must you torment me so?"

"You are the one that is tormenting himself. You must be a masochist." She giggled.

"Maybe I am." He whispered, kissing her neck, his lips making their way downward.

"So this is a yes to my question?" Hinata asked as he started pulling on her clothes.

"Well, when a girl is practically throwing herself on you what is a guy to do? Especially if it is the girl that the guy has been in love with for years?" Neji questioned.

"The only thing the guy can do. Give in." A gasp escaped her lips as he swung her up into his arms and took her into his bedroom. Gently setting her on his bed he gave her a soft smile as he moved on top of her.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

She nodded. "I love you, too."

And it was even more true hours later as she dressed and left his apartment whistling a tune as she walked back to the Hyuga compound; neither of them ever thinking of the consequences of their actions.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It was already nearly two months later and Hinata and Neji saw each other almost ever night. Her father seemed oblivious to what she was doing, but not her sister. There had been more than once occasion that Hanabi had insisted on sleeping in Hinata's room, making it impossible to sneak out. Tonight Hanabi had insisted on sleeping in her room again but Hinata had told her sister in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't allow it and if Hanabi was still in her room in her room in five seconds, Hinata would tell their father that Hanabi wouldn't leave her alone. The threat was enough but Hinata was sure that she would be watched even more closely now than ever.

She made her way to Neji's apartment and let herself in with the key that he had made for her. She opened the door and found him sitting at the table that was wedged against the end of his bed. He looked up at her as he entered, then back at the paper work spread every where.

"One of the excitements of being a Jonin?" She asked dryly, making her way to his side.

"Yeah," he said just as dryly. "Why are you here, Hinata? I thought we decided that this relationship was getting to dangerous, and if anyone found out... I don't even want to think about it. You should leave, Hinata."

"I thought we discovered that argument will work on me." Hinata said.

"What argument will get you to go home, Hinata?" Neji asked.

She took a step forward. "You know what argument will work. All you have to do is what I want you to do."

"No. I won't let this go on anymore." He whispered, closing his eyes. "Hinata, forget about me. I'm a lost cause, not worthy of the price you will pay if we are discovered."

"I'll be the one to decide who is worthy or not. And guess what? I decided that you are worthy of happiness, Neji. You have just as much right as anyone else. If you didn't, do you think I'd be here?"

"I think that you fancy yourself in love, but it is lust that you feel. You lust after a thought, Hinata. One that can't come true."

"They why do you say my name with such emotion? Why do you make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world? Is it lust that drives you? Do you lust after me?" Hinata whispered.

"Yes, Hinata, I do." Neji sighed.

"But you told me that you loved me! Why did you say that? So you could have your way with me then toss me aside? What am I to you? What am I to you?!" She screamed as the tears fell down her cheeks.

"You are Hinata, the dearest thing in the whole world to me. The only person who has ever asked how I feel and not gone with the assumption that I was happy with my life." He stopped and laughed. "Even Gai and Lee who can't see things in front of their faces can see a difference in me. They say I look truly happy and _you_ are the reason, Hinata." He stood and faced her, a sad smile on his face. "But our relationship was doomed to fail form the beginning. You are Hinata-sama, Heir of Hyuga Hiashi-sama. And what am I? A fleck of dirt that so desperately clings to your robes. Please leave, Hinata, before I have someone come and take you back home."

"What brought this on? Two days ago we were making plans to run away together, live our lives the way we want to live them! Why have you betrayed me? Why! Tell me!" She fell to her knees and started sobbing.

"Hinata, we can't play with destiny. You were destined to be the Head of our clan, just as I was destined to be your servant. Please stop making this harder on yourself. I'll take you home now." He knelt next to her and offered his hand but she pushed it away.

"I thought you decided everyone was free to find their own destiny. Didn't Naruto teach you anything?" Slowly she stood and walked to the door, glancing back to look at him one last time. "Goodbye, Neji. I'll never see you again." She left the apartment, only the soft click of the door closing the only sign that she had been there.

"Hinata," he moaned. "You're taking my heart with you. You reached in and ripped it out and now you hold it in the palm of your hand. What are you going to do with it?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The nest morning Hinata tried to put on a happy face but she knew she was failing miserably. She went through the motions of being alive but inside she was dead. Her pillow had been soaked with tears when she woke up and her excuse to the maids had been only half hearted. She knew that they would report her emotional state to her father and she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to lie to him anymore.

'_Just tell him the truth, Hinata. Even though He is going to be really mad and probably will kick you out of the clan like he did Neji. Oh, this is ridiculous, arguing with myself? I must be going crazy.'_ She sighed and stood, facing Hanabi in the same dojo that she and Neji use to spar in. While her sister had the inborn abilities of the Hyuga clan, she lacked the passion that Neji had shown in battle, even if it was only a training battle. _'I really am losing my mind, thinking about him all the time. If someone were to look inside my head all they would see is a crazy mess.'_ She snorted. '_I'm sure Neji would love to know the state I'm in because of him.'_ Her internal battle caused her to lose track of her external one and was quite surprised when she discovered herself to be flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling.

Hanabi stood over her, the girl's hand on her hips. "You have been awfully distracted today, Hinata. Do you want to share your thoughts with us all?" Hanabi arched a sarcastic brow and waited.

"If I wanted to share my thoughts I would have been speaking them out loud." She made to rise but to her horror she found that she didn't have the strength. "Hanabi, help." Hanabi took her hands, grumbling about how lazy Hinata had become. She pulled her older sister her feet. After which Hinata promptly fell back down.

"Hinata! Are you okay? What's wrong?! Hinata?" Hanabi called in growing panic as Hinata started laughing hysterically.

"I can't feel my legs," Hinata laughed. "I can't feel them! Hanabi get help!" Hinata's laughs dissolved into sobs. "I can't feel them! Hanabi quick!" Hinata rolled over onto her back. "The clouds are pretty," she said, glancing out the window as Hanabi ran away.

He father's concerned face appeared above her, blocking her view of the clouds. "Hinata, where are you hurt?" Hiashi asked urgently.

"It doesn't hurt; I just can't feel my legs. Don't the clouds look pretty? You look funny," she giggled. "Why is your hair bright purple? It looks silly." She yawned. "I think I'm going to take a nap. G'night," she murmured as darkness claimed her.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hallucinating that her father has bright purple hair is definitely serious. Hiashi would never do something so... fun. Tell me when you get the results of her blood tests."

The voice was vaguely familiar to Hinata but she wasn't quite sure where she had heard it before. "Wu, wha happen? Were I'm I?" Her brain was sluggish and her words were slurred but the person seemed to understand what she was asking.

"You are in the hospital. Do you remember what happened to you?" A face swan into Hinata's view. Kind eyes framed by flaxen hair came and went as she tried to focus her eyes. A purple dot appeared in the middle of the person's face along with the memory of who this person was. "Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade smiled. "Yes. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I just ran a hundred miles race at top speed and still lost. Why am I here? All I remember is Hanabi looking down on me." Hinata whispered.

"It seems that you passed out, but no before you told your father that he had purple hair. Can you tell me why you thought he had purple hair?" Tsunade asked.

"It wasn't dad I saw." She looked away. "It was someone else," she whispered.

"Who was it?" Tsunade pressed.

Hinata took a deep breath before whispering, "Neji."

"Why Neji?" Tsunade frowned.

Embarrassed, Hinata said the first thing that came to mind. "The last time I saw him, the sun was shining just right so his hair looked purple."

"Why, Hinata? Isn't Neji banished from the Hyuga?" Tsunade questioned.

"I was crying. Because he turned me away. Because I love him." Tears started falling. "I love him and he treats me like I'm a little kid that needs to be patted on her head, not loved. Why did he do this to me? I gave him all he could ever want but he just turned me away. I might as well forget he was ever born." Hinata sobbed.

"Hinata," Tsunade sighed. "Have you and Neji been intimate? This could help me figure out what is wrong with you, so be honest?"

Hinata could feel the heat rush through her body as the blood drained form her face. "Yes." Her answer was barely a whisper, but the Fifth had heard.

"Hinata, I need your permission to do a thorough examination. And do a pregnancy test." Tsunade sighed.

Hinata nodded blankly, her eyelids drooping. She lay there in a half daze while the Hokage examined her. Finally Tsunade stood. "Get more sleep, Hinata. That's always the best medicine. Sleep."

The indigo haired girl tried to do as Tsunade commanded but sleep seemed so far away even though she did want it. She had lain there for what she thought was hours when she heard voices in the hall, talking about her.

"The test came back positive, which explains everything. Her body is still adjusting to what's happening. She probably could feel her legs but the signals in her brain were crossed by Hanabi's blow and in an effort to protect itself, the brain simply decided to shut down. But she should be fine now. I'll leave the two of you to talk."

Hinata could hear Tsunade's footsteps retreating while the door to her hospital room opened.

"Hinata," her father said with pure venom in his voice. "Wake up."

She tried to ignore her father but to no avail as he started shaking her. "Yes?" She answered weakly.

"You are pregnant," the anger in his voice hit her full force, tears threatening to fall bet she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing them.

"So I've heard," she said, her own temper flaring.

"Who is the father?" Hiashi's voice was deadly calm but there was murder in his eyes.

"Several different people," she said dryly, not wanting to give her father the triumph of a straight answer.

"Hinata." He growled, this time letting the anger win as he grabbed her shoulders and started shaking them. "You give yourself to the first man that grabs you fancy and this is what happens! You are creating a scandal that I am not going to take care of! You are going to rid yourself of this problem and then you are only going to be able to leave your room at formal dinner! The only people that can see you are Hanabi, your maid and myself! If I hear of you even thinking of leaving I'll brand you with the curse mark and exile you. Do you understand?" His voice was now deadly calm and she knew better than to resist him.

"Yes," she said weakly. "I understand." '_That you want to kill me. You might as well have ripped out my heart while you were at it.'_

Hiashi turned to leave. "Do not speak of this with anyone else. Not even your sister is to know of this. Do I make myself clear, Hinata?"

"Clearer than crystal," she replied sarcastically.

"Hinata," he growled. With one last venomous look Hiashi left, leaving Hinata to her thoughts.

'_A baby. I'm going to have a baby. What will Neji think? We never talked about this happening. I wonder what he'll say when I tell him. He probably won't be happy. He'll say that his all could have been avoided if I had just left him alone.' _Tears were streaming down her cheeks but she didn't notice. _'It doesn't matter. I will love this baby. We don't need anyone else. I could get my own apartment and raise my child by myself. What everyone else thinks is not relevant. Only what I think is and I know that I will love my child with every ounce of my being.'_

"Hey, Hinata! We heard you were in the hospital. What happened?" Kiba said in his normal voice that was several pitches higher than normal peoples, as Akamaru barked at her and Shino mumbled something under his breath, pulling her from her thoughts.

"I passed out. Nothing to worry about. Why are you here?" She questioned.

"What, you think that we'd abandon you in your time of need? Seriously, Hinata, you need to get it through that head of yours that there are people that like you and don't care about the stupid Hyuga rules. Now what's going on?"

Hinata stared at her teammates, her fathers warning ringing through her head. '_What would Shino and Kiba think if I told them the truth?'_

"Hanabi and I were sparing and she landed a blow that confused all the signals form my legs to my brain." She said, hoping that her male companions couldn't tell that she was keeping the real reason secret. "I'm really not supposed to have visitors. How did you get past my dad?"

"Your dad's not out there. Why can't you have visitors?" Kiba asked.

"You know my father." She sighed. "I'm really tired. Tell Kurenai-sensei I'm fine, okay?"

"Sure thing, Hinata. See you later, 'k?" Kiba waved as he drug Shino out the door.

She nodded and smiled, trying to look happy so they wouldn't worry. Kiba's exit was more silent than when he arrived, once again leaving her to her thoughts. _'I won't be your teammate much longer, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Akamaru-kun. I'm sorry. Tell Kurenai-sensei that I'm sorry I won't be able to go on missions anymore but I'm not sorry that I was given this opportunity.'_

She lay there for several minutes before the door opened and her sister walked in carrying her clothes. "Father said I'm supposed to help you dress then we are going home. What did you do to make him so mad?"

Hinata reached out and took her clothes, ignoring her sister.

"Tell me what happened!" Hanabi demanded.

Hinata turned to her sister and exploded. "Why do you always think you need to know what I'm doing?! It's none of your business!"

Hanabi pressed her lips together and didn't say anything else while Hinata got dressed. They taciturnly went into the hallway where Hiashi was waiting. He didn't even look at his elder daughter as he turned and walked away.

As soon as they made it home Hiashi locked Hinata in her room and set a guard at her door. With a sigh Hinata sat down on her bed and waited, though she wasn't sure what she was waiting for.

Hours later her door opened to reveal her sister. "I brought you supper. Seriously, Hinata, Father has been in an uproar since we got home. What did you do?"

Anger at her sister's own naivety suddenly overcame her and she gave a sad laugh. "You really want me to tell you? You'll be disappointed, appalled, even sickened. Father told me not to tell you but who really cares? Nothing will ever be the way it was and I'm thankful." Hinata gave another rueful laugh. "I'm pregnant, Hanabi, and I don't care what anyone thinks! It's my body, _my_ decision! And it is my child."

Hanabi stood there for several seconds, her face losing all color. "You're what?" She whispered. "Why, Hinata? Why did you do this? What are you trying to prove?" Hanabi yelled. She dropped the tray that she had been holding and ran out the door. Moments later her father was standing in the doorway, his face contorted in barely contained rage.

"Come, Hinata." He hissed. She shook her head and slowly backed away. Fury filled his eyes and suddenly she was being drug by her hair out of the room.

"You always were a disappointment as a daughter, but I never would have thought that you would swoop so low as to tell you sister what you have done in such an offhanded manner." Hiashi growled as he pushed her through the door of a room she had never been in before.

"What is going on?" She asked as fear shot through her as she noticed a man in the corner.

"This man will take care of all the problems you have created for me, Hinata. The child you carry will be no more." He pulled her face close to his. "This is what happens when you break the rules, Hinata. You should have listened to me in the first place and none of this would have happened."

She tried to pull out of his grip but couldn't. "You would murder an innocent child?" She whispered.

"What ever you do or say won't help now. I will not have this child being born, disgracing the Hyuga!" Hiashi hissed.

"The girl is obviously unable to make decision. We'll have to make one for her. Does she want to do this the calm easy way or does she want to fight and make this interesting?" The man said, watching her closely. He advanced leisurely wanting her to feel the panic surge through her veins. He slowly brought a syringe into her view. "You cannot win; you might as well give in, Hinata-sama." She screamed as the needle pierce her skin and the room started to swim. She fell slowly but a pair of arms caught her and laid her on the ground.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

She woke in the middle of the night the day's events burned forever on her mind. She stood and slowly made her way to her room's only window. The fall would only be five feet or so, she decided as she jumped. She made it off Hyuga land and wondered around, not looking here she was going until she found herself in front of _his_ door. She raised her hand to knock then drew it away. _'I don't deserve his love, just like he said. I shouldn't try to put my problems on his shoulders. I'm sorry, Neji. I'll never bother you again. I love you.'_

She turned to go, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Neji," she whispered as she slowly fell to the ground, all the strength sapped from her body. She lay there for several moments before the dark claimed her, wishing that someone would come and rescue her from the nightmare that was her life.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Neji woke with the sun, surprised. He usually slept till the last second he could without being late. He got out of bead and prepared his breakfast then slowly ate it; still troubled by the dream he had had the night before.

Hinata's voice had called for him, in panic at first, then in pure terror, then finally in a voice barely above a whisper. The dream continued to haunt him as he got ready for the day, not being able to shake the feeling that it had really _happened_ and Hinata needed him.

Knowing that he would be the first one at team Gai's meeting place he deliberately drug his feet. He opened the front door slowly and was about to go out when he remembered that Gai had forced his paperwork on Neji the night before. He went back to his table and grabbed it, looking around to see if he missed anything else. Shaking his head he decided that he had better get going as staying in his apartment any longer would bring back memories of Hinata he had tried to bury back to the surface.

He had just pulled the door to his apartment closed when he almost tripped over the object of his thoughts, the thin white robe she wore revealing just how skinny she was.

"Hinata," he said softly. "Hinata, why are you here?" He knelt down next to his former lover and brushed indigo hair out of her face. She had an unnatural flush to her cheeks but her body was shivering. "Hinata are you okay? Hinata?! Please give me a sign that you are sill here," he whispered.

A small groan escaped her lips, assuring him she was still there. He gently pulled her into his arms and stood. "Don't worry, Hinata. We'll figure out what's wrong with you."

The hospital was still quiet and calm when they arrived, since it was still early in the morning. He went straight to the registration desk and demanded that the woman there get a doctor for Hinata. The nurse had take one look at the young woman in his arms then lead them to a room. He set Hinata down in the bed as the nurse rushed out of the room. He took Hinata's hand in his own and studied her face. Even though it had only been two days since the argument that had caused her to leave him, he could see that she had lost weight, her already thin body skin and bones.

"Hinata?" The voice made Neji jump. Slowly he turned to I.

"Hokage, Tsunade-sama?" He asked in surprise.

"Why is Hinata here? And with you?" Tsunade questioned as she went to the bed and touched Hinata's forehead.

"I found her outside my door this morning. It looks like she has a fever." Neji peered at Hinata's face in concern.

"Yes," Tsunade hissed. "Leave so I can tend to her." He glanced up at her in distress. "Leave Neji. You won't be able to do anything. You'll just be in the way."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." He left the room slowly, the door clicking behind him as he leaned against it. _Hinata, what's wrong with you?_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hinata, wake up. That is an order." Tsunade demanded, shaking the girl's shoulders. The Hokage had been trying to rouse to girl for fifteen minutes and was starting to worry she wouldn't wake up.

"Eh," Hinata moaned, regaining conscious slowly, her head spinning. "Yeah?" she said groggily.

"Hinata, you are back in the hospital, the second day in a row. Do you have any idea what might be wrong with you?" Tsunade sighed.

Imagines came and went, causing her to gasp. Tears started streaming sown her cheeks, her eyes wide with horror. "The baby." She whispered. "The baby is no more. My baby is gone."

"What happened?" Tsunade demanded, her brows knitting in concentration.

"There was a man and he said that he was going to take care of my problem then I was falling and couldn't catch myself then I woke up and had to get away but the only person I could think about was him and he doesn't even know about anything, that he was going to be a father but now he isn't and it's all my fault." Sobs racked her small form almost violently and Tsunade had to put her hand on Hinata's shoulder to keep her steady.

"Who did it, Hinata? Who took the baby?" Tsunade murmured.

"I didn't know him. He was there and he said he'd take care of the problem I created. Then he cage me medicine to make me fall asleep. When I woke up I was in my bed, but I had to leave. I had to get away. My baby," she sobbed.

"It's going to be okay, Hinata." Tsunade tried to reassure the girl, knowing full well that Hinata wouldn't ever be the same. "I'm going to take some blood and test it to make sure you're all right, okay? Neji's here if you want to see him."

"Neji," Hinata said weakly.

"Yes. Do you want to talk to him? Or do you want me to send him away?" Tsunade asked.

"I need to tell him what happened. I want to see him." The sobs had subsided and left hiccups in their place.

Tsunade nodded, then finished taking her blood sample and went to the door.

"Hinata wants to speak to you. Be gentle." Tsunade said as she left the room.

Neji silently nodded and went into the room, closing the door behind him. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and took her hand. Silence reigned for several moments, only broken by an occasional hiccup.

"Hinata," he started, but she cut him off.

"Neji, something wonderful happened." Her lips quivered as she spoke. "And then something bad."

"What happened? Please tell me, Hinata." He stroked her hand, wishing to comfort her, not wanting to think about what had put her in such a state.

"Neji, we..." She took a deep breath. "We, we mad a baby. A baby." She closed her eyes but not before she saw the look of complete shock on his face.

"You're pregnant?" He whispered.

She opened her eyes. "No. Not any more. My father made sure of it. There is no more baby. And no more Hinata. It would have been better if they had killed me too." The expression on Neji's face broke her heart all over again.

"Your father forced you to get rid of the child." The statement was made in a dead voice, his face lifeless.

"Yes," she mumbled. The tears had started again, leading to hysterical sobs.

Neji sat there watching her, his face blank of all emotions. "Hinata," he whispered. He slowly moved out of his chair and lay down next to her, drawing her against him. They lay there for a long time, supporting each other in their grief.

"I will never leave you," he whispered after she had fallen asleep. "I love you, know and forever, no matter what happens."


	3. Someday

Sonata of the Night

Author: Hyuga Haruka

Disclaimer: A mime is a horrid thing to waste, especially since they are so hard to come by anymore. Furthermore I don't own Naruto or a mime. But I wish I did.

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Chapter Three: Someday

"I was in the hospital for a week. I got some sort of infection that didn't want to go away. But I didn't care. I wanted to die but I was forced to live. Now every month we wait and wonder 'Could this be the month? Could we be given another chance at parenthood?' But every month it is the same answer: no. Even though I should be able to conceive, it never happens. I truly am the biggest idiot that walks the earth." The wind had picked up during her story, causing her to shiver.

"Hinata," Sakura said, unable to voice her thoughts after the horrors of the story she had just heard.

"After I got out of the hospital, I moved in with Neji, my father having declared that I was unfit in all of my duties, that I was being stripped of my title and that I was never to set foot on Hyuga property again." Hinata paused then said, "It doesn't bother me the way it should, being banished. All I want is for Neji to get better and for another chance to have a child. Maybe someday everything will be back to normal."

"Hinata, what if I were to tell you that a genetic disorder might keep Sasuke and I form ever having children? But he still loves me, still wants me despite this." She turned toward the other young woman and gave her a shaky smile. "Don't give up hope, Hinata. One day you will be the mother of several children, and they will have children of their own and maybe my children will play with your children then one of mine can fall in love with one of yours and we can all be one big, happy family."

Hinata laughed; the first true one since she had found out about Neji. "Have you ever considered quitting your job as a medic-nin and taking up motivational speaking?"

"Interesting thought," Sakura said, stroking her chin.

Hinata laughed again. "You are so strange, Sakura. Ah, it's getting colder; it looks like it might rain. Shall we head back inside?"

"Yep!" Sakura said in a voice that was much cheerier than normal.

They parted ways at the second floor, Hinata turning left toward Neji's room while Sakura went right toward the registration desk. The pink haired woman stopped in front, smiling at the woman sitting there. "I need to see Hinata Hyuga's records if I may?"

Then woman frowned. "Hinata Hyuga?"

"Yes, she is one of my patients. Is something wrong?" Sakura asked.

"The Hokage said that her medical history should only be available to her and no one else."

"I'm Sakura Uchiha! I'm the Fifth's student! I should be able to see the records of my patient!"

The woman pressed her lips into a thin like then slowly nodded. "Yes," she said as she stood and went into the record room behind her. She came back out carrying a large folder. "Hyuga Hinata," she said pointing to the name written on the label. "This is her complete medical record; every test ever done on her is in here. If someone asks you were you got it, I wasn't the one that gave it to you."

Sakura frowned then nodded. "Thank you." _'Why are Hinata's records top secret?'_ She thought as she went into the break room, sitting down to read the file.

It started when Hinata was only a few hours old. _'Born almost two months premature, needing oxygen, blood transfusions, blood cleansing rituals, a feeding tube...'_ "Poor Hinata. I never would have thought that she would have had so many problems at birth." The pink haired kunoichi continued reading as the list of life saving procedures grew longer. _'She was five days old when she had surgery to repair a hole in her heart. That would explain why her heart gave out in the Chunin exams. It's always been weak.'_

She flipped through the pages until she found the ones marked three years ago. She pressed her lips together until they hurt as she read which test had been done and which ones hadn't. She read notes written in her master's strong hand as her disgust with the Hyuga clan grew. _'Hinata, you truly are a brave person, going through all of this without anyone finding out. I would have never been able to face all this. You are genuinely worthy of the title kunoichi. Even more worthy than I.'_

"Reading something interesting?" Her master's voice said dryly.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said in surprise. "I was just reading a patients files."

"That patient wouldn't happen to be Hinata, would it?" Tsunade probed.

"Yes," Sakura said, lowering her head. "I am sorry, Master. I know that these files are restricted, but I had to see for myself if what she said was true."

"It is hard to believe that the Hyuga would go so far, but everyone has secrets, Sakura. You do, and so do I. Sometimes it's better for them to stay that way. The file is restricted at Hyuga-sama's request and my own judgment that this was the correct action to take. Rules are there for a reason, Sakura." She admonished lightly as she took the record book and folded it under her arm.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said, feeling guilty without knowing why.

Tsunade sighed and looked away. "Oh, Sakura, you don't have to look like you were giving a spanking. One day you will be in charge of this hospital and you will have to make all the hard decisions. Be glad that you still are my student, not the hospital administrator. It gives you gray airs and wrinkles. Definitely not something a girl of twenty years would want, especially if she is a new bride."

A blush touched Sakura's cheeks. "Tsunade-sama, was there a reason that you came here? Don't you have paperwork to fill out?"

"Bah! I have Naruto doing it. He thinks he wants to be Hokage, doesn't he? Now he can see that it's not all fun and games."

Sakura gave a giggle which Tsunade joined in. "But I did come here with some news." The Fifth Hokage said.

"What?"

"Oh, your latest lab results came back." Tsunade said with a wave of her hand.

"What did they say?" She whispered, steeling her heart for more disappointment.

"Oh, heightened hormones, morning sickness, swollen ankles, stomach looking like you swallowed a watermelon and one cranky husband." Tsunade said thoughtfully.

Sakura drew in her breath sharply. "So I am going to have a baby?"

"It would certainly look like it. Not too bad for only knowing about and treating your condition for a couple of months." Tsunade shrugged.

Sakura sat there in shock, her hand resting on her still flat stomach. _"Every month we wait and every month we are disappointed,"_ Hinata's sad voice whispered in her ear. _'Poor Hinata. What if she never has the child she is so desperate for?'_ "Tsunade-sama, you were the one that took care of Hinata three years ago, right?"

"Yes, though I don't see how that fits in with this news." Tsunade frowned.

"Why can't Hinata conceive? She said that they have been trying ever since she got out of the hospital."

Tsunade sighed and gripped the bridge of her nose. "Hinata had a very serious infection that started in her uterus. It is doubtful that she will ever have a child again."

"Does she know this?" Sakura demanded.

"She was told but her state of mind at that time was such that she probably doesn't remember."

Sakura sat there in a loss for words. _'Hinata,'_ she thought greatly saddened.

Tsunade stood and walked toward the door. "Sakura, you will watch Neji and Hinata? I am going back to me office to check on that knucklehead."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she said meekly. _'Why does all the bad stuff happen to Hinata? Why can't she have one patch of happiness in her life?'_ Suddenly the pink haired woman stood. _'I'll recheck the blood work myself. Maybe the answer Hinata needs is right there, hidden in plane sight.'_ She rushed out of the room, nearly knocking down several people in her hast. _'This month _will_ be the month, Hinata.'_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Hinata slowly made her way back to Neji's room, not looking forward to watching him sleep when couldn't. She opened the door to the room and was surprised to see someone sitting in the chair that she usually occupied.

"Hanabi?!" She said in shock. "What are you doing here?" Apprehension started in her belly and continued though her until she was almost paralyzed.

"I heard that Neji was injured and I wanted to see how he was doing." The Heiress to the Hyuga said. She sat there for several long moments before whispering, "And I miss you," she looked up at her older sister. "Why did you leave me, Hinata? Ever since your banishment I have been all alone. No one ever sees me, Hanabi; they see the Heiress of the clan. Is this how you felt? Overwhelmed by everything, no friends, no one? I miss you, Hinata! I don't care if I get in trouble for seeing you!" She started crying and Hinata couldn't help but hug her.

"You can come and see me anytime you want, Hanabi. You know where I live." Hinata soothed.

"Father doesn't know were I am if you're wondering. I learned long ago how to shake off his silly guards. I wish they were more interesting and closer to my age, though I'm sure he learned his lesson after you and Neji, not wanting to give me guards under a hundred." Hanabi rambled, rolling her eyes then studying her cousin. "How is he doing, Hinata? Truly doing, not the medic's version of how he'll make a full recovery."

"He's... not doing very well, Hanabi. In fact they don't expect him to live. They keep asking me if they can make him comfortable and let him die in peace, but I keep telling them no. He _will_ get better. He _will_ wake up and come back to me." She closed her eyes and forced the tears not to fall.

"Oh, Hinata," Hanabi whispered, hugging her sister. "I know that Neji will get better for the simple reason that he is too stubborn not to live, not to fight. And he has the biggest reason: You. Why wouldn't he want to live if he has you? What guy wouldn't want you? Well, other than Naruto but he's an idiot."

Hinata giggled and hugged Hanabi tighter. "Thanks for coming and cheering me up. Nobody ever asks me how I feel. All they are concerned about is if Neji's comfortable or if he's getting enough pain medication. I want to smack the smiles off their faces half the time."

Hanabi sobered and asked in a straight face, "Can I help? The hospital people drive me crazy, too. Whom should we go after first?"

"I don't know," Hinata said, mock serious. "That one orderly bugs me. He has the creepiest smile. It's almost time for them to come in. You can see what I mean about creepy."

Hanabi smiled as she released her sister. "I'll come back tomorrow if I can. Right after lunch I'm supposed to meditate in my room but I never do. It's the best time to sneak away and wonder Konoha. I even met a cute boy, though I don't know his name."

"Ibiki," Hinata said confidently before she broke out laughing.

Hanabi's smile widened. "Maybe I'll know his name by tomorrow. See ya," she said as she walked to the door. "The orderly is out there. Do you want me to send him away?"

"No, he's fine. See you tomorrow."

Hanabi left her older sister still laughing at her joke. She quickly left the hospital and ran right into the boy that she had been telling her sister about.

"OOF!" He cried.

"Ug!" She moaned.

They both sat there for a while, rubbing their backsides and staring at each other.

"Why did you run into me?" He finally yelled, jumping to his feet.

"Why were you standing in the middle of the road?" She yelled back at him, slowly getting to her feet and brushing off her clothes.

"Hey, you're a Hyuga, aren't you?" He asked, clearly excited.

"Yes," she replied, not quite sure why he was asking.

"My sensei, the biggest idiot walking the earth, says that I need to get more taijutsu training in and the Hyuga are taijutsu geniuses! Can you help me?" By the smile on his face he was pleased with himself.

"You need help with taijutsu?" She laughed.

"Hey! It's not funny! Stop laughing!" He cried, jumping up and down.

"Oh, I don't think it's funny, I was just thinking about training." She lied convincingly. "I could only do it every other day if that often... Unless you came over to my house but that might not work... hum, I'll think about it. I need to get home. Meet me here tomorrow and I will try to help you with taijutsu."

"Sweet! See you later!" He called as he dashed away.

"Hey! What's your name?" She shouted.

"Konohamaru!" He yelled back.

Hanabi grinned to herself. _'I know his name now and he wants me to help him train! I've got so much to tell Hinata. I can't wait for tomorrow.'_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hinata." Sakura said, shaking the sleeping woman's shoulder.

"Yes?" Hinata asked, wakefulness returning quickly. She stretched, her muscles protesting the fact she had fallen asleep in a chair again. "Why is it, Sakura? Is something wrong with Neji" Fear crept into her voice as she looked at the man in the bed.

"No, he's still the same, though the most recent reports have shown an improvement. It's only as slight change though."

"It's still an improvement, though! That's what we've been waiting for, right? Neji is going to make a full recovery."

Sakura smiled at Hinata's intense statements. "Yes, he will continue to get better because he knows that you are right here, waiting for him to get better."

"Is it prep talk time again?" Hinata asked dryly.

"Actually, it's supper time and I know that you haven't been eating lately so I wanted to invite you for supper. Nothing fancy, just food from the cafeteria. You want to come?"

Hinata glanced at Neji then back at Sakura. "I would love to." She laughed. "I am hungry. Imagine that."

"Let's go!" Sakura cried, linking her arm with Hinata's as she pulled her out the door. "You need to eat more, Hinata. You are skin and bones. Guys don't like super skinny girls."

"Neji never seemed to mind," Hinata said offhandedly, surprising Sakura.

'_She can speak of him so casually? She's getting better. Hopefully Neji with also.'_

They got their food and sat down at a table where they wouldn't be disturbed. They ate in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Why did you really want me to come down here with you?" Hinata ventured, pushing what was left of her food away.

"I have some news. Do you want to hear the good news first or the super good news?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Good then super good." Hinata reasoned.

"Okay," the medic-nin said taking a deep breath. "You remember our talk on the roof?"

"Of course," Hinata said with a frown.

"Well, it looks like Sasuke and I will be having a baby." Sakura watched Hinata pale slightly then smile.

"That is wonderful! How did Sasuke react when he heard the news?" Hinata inquired.

"He almost fainted, poor man." Sakura giggled.

Hinata giggled as well, trying to imagine the Uchiha heir fainting. "So what was the super good news? You having twins? Triplets?"

"Well, I don't know about that. The super good news is for you, actually. Hinata," Sakura whispered, leaning forward to take her friend's hands. "Hinata, you are pregnant. Almost three months."

Hinata pulled her hands out of Sakura's and sat there with contemplating look on her face, her eyes unfocused. Finally after several moments she whispered, "Almost three months?"

"Yeah." Sakura grinned then frowned. "What's the matter Hinata?" She questioned when the other woman started crying.

"I wasn't truthful, Sakura. I told you about my first pregnancy, but not about the second. It was a little over a year ago. We were overjoyed; we really wanted the baby. Then at the beginning of the third month, I, I, I, I lost the baby. Neji refused to touch me for months after. I felt so useless, like I couldn't do anything right. I was a disappointment to my father, I deserted my sister, I let Neji down and I couldn't protect my children. I'm useless." She cried.

"Oh, Hinata," Sakura said, her eyes filling with tears. _'Why is the whole world trying to break Hinata?'_ "I'll be here, Hinata. Watching over you, making sure that nothing happens to you, the baby, or Neji."

Hinata sat there with her eyes unfocused for several moments before finally asking, "Why didn't any of the tests I did show I was pregnant? It's not unusual for me to miss a period but I have taken so many pregnancy tests I should own the company by now."

"The hospital has slightly more sophisticated equipment than any home pregnancy teat. We can find things out, Hinata. Even if you are trying to hide something we can find it." Sakura joked.

"You're not very convincing, Sakura." Hinata said dryly as she stood. "You are much better at the perky routine. Stick with that." She gathered up the remands of her supper and walked over to the door, leaving her tray to be washed.

"Well, that went well." Sakura said under her breath, not quite able to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Hinata wandered the halls of the hospital aimlessly, not wanting to return to the hospital room were Neji was slipping farther and farther away from her.

She didn't believe for a moment when someone told her he was getting better. She knew that he wasn't going to pull through. She tried to push those thought out of her mind as she ended up in the same place she had been earlier that morning.

'_There is a new addition.'_ She thought, smiling. _'He's cute. I wonder who the lucky parents are? He looks kinda like Ino... Could he be her son?'_ She raked her brain for anything she had heard about Ino recently. _'She's married to Choji, isn't she? Or was it the man that looks like Sasuke, whatever his name was. Hum... I really have been cut off form my former life. But do I miss it?'_

She watched the infants sleep and decided that she could care less what anyone though of her and her life choices. _'It's never bothered me whether or not anyone other than Neji knew I exist. Only Neji and his child matter to me. Who cares what anyone else thinks?'_

"Miss, can I help you?"

Hinata turned from thoughts and smiled at the nurse. "I was just watching and wondering if I was ever that small. It doesn't seem possible, does it?"

The nurse smiled in return. "It often doesn't, does it? They are all well behaved."

Hinata laughed. "They are only a couple of hours old. They haven't discovered their talents for mischief yet."

"Do you have any?"

The former Hyuga Heir sighed wistfully. "In about six months I'm told that I'll be standing here looking in on my child."

"Congratulations." The nurse smiled at her.

Hinata blushed. "Thanks. I can't wait. It seems that I've already been waiting forever." She stopped talking, wondering if there was a double meaning to her words. _'I'm the on that said them, I should know what I meant. Am I going crazy?'_ She sighed. _'Probably.'_

"Is one of these children's parents Ino and Choji Akimichi? I though the little blond boy was." Hinata inquired.

"Yes, born this morning right before lunch. It was a very easy labor from what I heard. All three are doing well." The nurse beamed.

"Choji didn't faint or anything?" Hinata grinned.

"I heard that he came close. Are they friends of yours?"

"Fellow ninja. We graduated the academy together, went on many missions together. Those were good times." She let her voice trailed off. "I should be getting back downstairs. Thank you for letting me look."

"Come back anytime. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you have about pregnancy and newborns." The nurse waved as she went into the nursery.

'_Now to tell Neji about the baby. I wonder if he can understand anything I say to him? Probably not. Oh well. At least I know that I told him.'_ She retraced her steps and reentered his room noticing a vase with flowers in it. _'Sakura.'_ Smiling to herself, she sat down and took Neji's had in her own. "Neji, I have wonderful news. You're going to be a dad. A dad." She waited for a response but was disappointed when none came.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It had been a week since she found out she was pregnant and Neji still lay in the bed with no sign that he would ever wake up from his coma. Her sister had only come once in that dime thought she had stayed the whole afternoon. _'She's in love. Oh the tragedy that is the first love. Hopefully the boy knows not to break her heart of the might end up with a Gentle Fist to his.'_ She giggled at the thought. _'At least Dad knows about Hanabi's training Konohamaru and begrudgingly accepts it because he doesn't want Hanabi on his bad side. I just hope that he doesn't find out about her coming here to see me. She would get in a lot of trouble.'_ Hinata sighed and stood, walking over to room's window. _'It's surprising that Hanabi is concerned about Neji. She never really acted like she like him_.'Hinata gasped as a thought assaulted her. _'Could it be that she loves him? She always acted so high and aloft around him though. Could that be the reason? Well now she has Konohamaru. Hopefully she'll realize what is right in front of her face is exactly what she wants and needs._'

Hinata stood by the window a long time, watching the birds sore above her, their cages cast off and freedom within their grasps. _'Soon they will discover that freedom is worse than being in a cage; that a loved one will disappear from your life without warning.'_ Her eyes started hurting but she knew that the tears wouldn't fall, they had all dried up a long time ago. Sighing, she went back to her chair and took his hand in hers.

"Neji, please wake up? We all want you to wake up. We are waiting, dammit! Neji you had better get better, not for my sake but for the child! The baby you so desperately wanted! Wake up Neji!" For several moments nothing happened then she watched as his chest suddenly stopped moving as all the monitors he was hooked up to started beeping in warning.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Tsunade-sama! A word!" Sakura yelled as she ran after her master. She skidded to a stop in front of the Hokage, breathing heavily from running.

"What is it, Sakura? I'm busy." Tsunade said, annoyed.

"I'm worried about Hinata. She doesn't eat. She never leaves that room! She's going to cause harm to her child! Please talk to her. She doesn't listen to me."

Her master's mouth pressed into a thin line. "Yes, I will speak with her. Follow me Sakura. We will knock some sense into that girl." Tsunade took long, purposeful strides to the stars, making Sakura jog to keep up. They made it up the two flights faster than usual. The Hokage breezed past various hospital workers who all bowed to her. She stopped outside Neji's room and nodded to Sakura. She was opening the door when she heard Hinata yell, "Wake up Neji!" and miscellaneous alarms go off. She pushed into the room and quickly took in which monitors were going off.

"Sakura! Get Hinata out of here! He's gone into cardiac arrest! Get me some help!" Tsunade screamed as the rushed to Neji's side.

Sakura hastily grabbed Hinata's arm and pulled her out of the room toward the nurse's station. "Neji's in cardiac arrest! Tsunade needs help!"

Hinata stared going back toward Neji's room in a daze but Sakura stopped her. "Let me go! Neji needs me!" She yelled.

"Hinata! There is nothing you can do for Neji! Let Tsunade-sama work on him! All we can do is wait for her to come out here and tell us what is going on. We have to trust that Neji will pull though this! That Tsunade can heal him. We just have to trust."

"Neji don't die," Hinata whispered. "Neji don't die. NEJI DON'T DIE!" She screamed, what was left of her self-control shattering as she buried her face in Sakura's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.


	4. Sunset

Sonata of the Night

Disclaimer:

Misa: "I can't live in a world with out Light."

L, dryly: "Yes, it would be dark."

So what have we learned from this?

Misa's an idiot. I also don't own Naruto or a Death Note. Ryuk hasn't found me yet. Sob.

* * *

Chapter Four: Sunset

Hanabi sat with her back perfectly straight, listening to another boring lecture on some long dead relative, wondering again why her sister had been banished. _'She was always much better at naming every Hyuga there ever was and will be. Why can't she come back?'_

"I'm done." She said, standing up.

Her father looked up in surprise. "Yes, Hanabi?"

"I'm done!" She said angrily. "With it all! I don't want to be the Heir! Hinata is the Heir and always will be! Not me! It was never meant to be me! It was always her!" Hanabi spat as she walked to the door. "I guess you will have to find a new pawn for your game, Father." With that she walked out the door. She noticed the sun was setting as she left the compound, striping the sky with pink and purple. "I'm free!" She laughed as she ran down a well know path.

Konohamaru was sitting under the giant maple tree of Training Ground Three when she arrived, several scrolls around him.

"What ya doing?" She asked happily.

"What does it look like? Why are you here? I thought that you could only come in the afternoon." He questioned with a frown.

"I decided to run away from home." She declared as she sat down next to him.

He looked her over, noticing her lack of bags with clothing in them. "Where are you going to stay? You can't stay at my house. Mom would flip, having a girl in a house with three boys." He rolled his eyes and grinned.

"How are the twins?" Hanabi asked.

"Overly excitable. I can't believe that Mom let aunt Kurenai move in with us, especially since she just got remarried."

"Your mom's nice. That's why." Hanabi rolled her eyes. "So, how is she?"

"On her honeymoon. How should she be?" He stuck out his tongue. "At least aunt Kurenai lets me go to bed whenever I want to. That's one good thing about them living with us."

"And you get to be cool cousin Konohamaru and get to teach them all you know. I wish I had a younger sibling or cousin that could look up to me. Oh well," She sighed. "I guess I'll go over to my sister's for the night. See you tomorrow, early?"

"Yep. I'll be waiting." He grinned.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hanabi stayed over last night. When I asked her why she was there, she told me that she had told Father that she was done being his pawn. I can only imagine the look on his face when she said that." Hinata rambled as she lay on the examining table, her protruding belly exposed.

"Hum," Tsunade said as she watched the ultrasound screen. "You and your sister need to stop making Hiashi mad. It's bad for me. The Hyuga are some of my best ninja. If Hiashi is all worked up that might interfere with the village's needs."

"Well now dad's going to have to think long and hard about whom is going to be his heir. I'm banished, Hanabi decided she didn't want to be and Neji was banished. If it stays this way he'll have to make a fifth or sixth cousin the heir and he would never do that. It takes his power of influence much farther away then he would ever let it." Hinata explained.

"What if he decides to give it to his closest relative that hasn't been rejected by him: your child?" Tsunade asked.

"I would never let him do that. He had caused my sister and I so much pain when we were growing up that I'd never let him." Hinata said in conviction.

"He still might do it," Tsunade aid squinting at the monitor. "It looks like the baby is just fine, growing like it is supposed to. Do you want to know the gender?"

"No, I want to be surprised when he or she is born." Hinata sighed wistfully.

"Of course," the Fifth Hokage said, putting the equipment away. "But how will you know what to get? Pink or blue?"

"White," Hinata said, excepting the towel form the Hokage and wiping off her stomach. "Everything is always white with the Hyuga and this one time I am willing to accept Hyuga tradition."

"So picky," Tsunade said dryly, pushing her out the door. "Remember: lots of rest and plenty of good healthy foods, and lots of fluids." With that she closed the door to the examination room. Hinata just rolled her eyes and made her way down to the first floor of the hospital. She nodded at various hospital workers that almost seemed like family. Taking a deep breath she opened the door of an inconspicuous room just as Sakura jumped to her feet and called, "Come on! You can do it!"

"Did you take a double dose of perky pills this morning?" The other occupant of the room asked dryly.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Sakura asked.

"Aren't perky pills bad for the baby?" Hinata questioned, rolling her eyes.

"Hinata!" Sakura cried running over and hugging her. "How are you? Everything fine?"

"It would be if you would stop strangling me." Hinata choked out.

"Oops. Sorry." Sakura mumbled as she let go. "So everything is fine? That's wonderful! I'm so happy!"

"Maybe its hormones not perky pills..." Hinata and Sakura both turned and glared at the man sitting in the chair across the room.

"Oh," Sakura pouted. "Sasuke says the meanest things..."

"Sakura, maybe you should go see to your patients instead of bugging me to death." The dark haired man said dryly, cutting the pink haired kunoichi off.

"Fine, I'll leave. You two better not do anything I wouldn't do." Sakura moaned as she went out the door.

"And that would be what?" The man asked as Hinata came over and sat down next to him.

"Well, considering that Sakura would probably do a lot of things I never would, she shouldn't have to worry." Hinata said as she turned and grinned at him.

"How Sasuke deals with her is beyond me. Too perky, especially in the mornings. Sometimes I wish I could throw something at her." He picked up a weight and held it above his head. He was breathing heavily by the time he set it on the floor thirty seconds later. "I wish my body would just remember that it can do all of this and I could be done with these stupid exercises."

"You were in a coma for nearly two months, you're allowed to be out of shape. Silly Neji." She said under her breath.

"What did you call me?" He asked in mock anger, his hands were suddenly tickling her sides making her laugh.

"Silly Neji!" She said happily.

"Really? I'm silly? Hinata is so mean to me," he whispered, resting his hands on her stomach as he leaned down to kiss her. "So what did Lady Tsunade say?"

"She said the baby is just like he or she is supposed to be growing and told me to get plenty of rest, good food and fluids. She also said she could tell me the gender but I told her I want to be surprised when he or she is born."

"Since I already know it's a boy. . ." He broke off laughing at her as she rolled her eyes at him. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are? That every day I'm amazed that you're really mine and are going to have my child? And I know this sounds funny coming from me the 'stoic genius' but it's the truth. Nearly dying helps you to see what you should've been doing all along. You are beautiful, Hinata, and I love you more than life itself."

"Who would've thought that Neji Hyuga would be so sentimental? Maybe his brain was switched with someone else's." She pressed her forehead to his. Smiling, he leaned down and kissed her.

They finally drew apart when the door opened and Sakura bounded back in carrying a large box. "Don't mind me; I'll be gone as soon as I put these away." She chirped happily.

"Sakura, have you ever considered less sugar in the morning? It's not that I don't appreciate your. . . flighty personality but sometimes. . . Well it can get a bit old." Neji said, rolling his eyes as he stood up and stretched.

Sakura stuck her tongue out in his general direction before returning to her task. "Do you two want to baby-sit my husband for a while this evening? I need to do some stuff and I'd rather not have him along."

"Why? Finally getting tired of him?" Neji taunted.

Sakura took a rubber ball out of the box and threw it at him. "You can't really speak that way to me! Even pregnant I could take you on! Come on Hyuga idiot! Let's see what you can do!"

"I would never fight a pregnant woman. That's just wrong." Neji said aloft.

"But you would have tickling matches?" Sakura asked.

"That's different," he said turning and winking at Hinata.

"Whatever." Sakura rolled her eyes at Neji.

"So why don't you have Naruto baby-sit Sasuke?" He asked, sticking his tongue out.

"Naruto is busy. Besides I thought it might deflate that ego of yours tat is annoying Hinata to death." Sakura flung back.

"The girls are teaming up on me! Help!" Neji cried as he crouched down in front of Hinata. "Get here soon, please! I can't fight with these uneven odds! You are my last hope!" He said dramatically, rubbing his hands gently over Hinata's belly.

"You talk about me having loopy pills but are you sure you aren't the one talking them?" Sakura said in shock. "Seriously." She sighed. "Anyway, isn't Lee supposed to be here soon?"

"Yeah," Neji muttered as he leaned forward to kiss Hinata then he stood. "I guess I had better start my warm-ups before he gets here. Don't want him to show me up."

"Come on, Hinata. We don't need to see the spring of youth for the thousandth time. It was old after the first." Sakura grumbled.

"Lee does tend to be over enthusiastic, doesn't he? Especially around Neji, and Gai, and Tenten, and Naruto and..." Hinata started, unable to resist.

"Go pick on your own teammates. Leave Lee alone. Gai... well, I blame his father for giving him that ridiculous green jumpsuit in the first place." Neji muttered.

"I blame him for even wearing that thing." Sakura rolled her eyes at the thought of Gai and Lee's apparel.

"But it is so light and stretchy and down right devastating." Lee called as he entered the room. "Sakura, you look even lovelier every time I see you and Hinata, I have never seen a prettier pregnant woman."

"That's because you've never really been around a pregnant woman before," Neji said dryly.

"Neji! You must believe in the power of youth!" Lee cried.

"I believe that I am going to beat you up for being so annoying!" Neji called back.

"No!" Lee raised his ands to his face in mock horror. "You must not! Tenten will now be pleased!"

"We must get out of here before the over inflated male egos get out of hand!" Sakura cried, grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her to the door. "Just remember if you kill each other the survivor has to do the paperwork and explain to Tsunade-sama why you killed the other." Pulling Hinata out the door, the pink haired kunoichi let out a sigh. "Men. What would we do without them? We'd lose some fun things but I think it could be called justifiable homicides. What do you think?"

"I think should start taking your perky pills again." Hinata said with a straight face.

"Are all Hyuga so..."

"Weird?" Hinata supplied.

"Delightful? I mean, seriously, you and Neji wear the same expression half the time and you both have the driest senses of humor. It must be boring to be from such a clan." Sakura groaned.

"Why do you think Neji and I left? We were bored with it, too." Hinata giggled.

Sakura laughed as well. "I'm sure that was the reason."

"So, what are you doing that Sasuke can't come?" The indigo haired woman asked.

"I'm going shopping with my mother. He always complains when he has to go so I thought that I'd spare myself, but he can come. It's really no big deal. But anyway, I'll see you later?" Sakura prattled.

"Yep. See you later, Sakura." Hinata waved as the pink haired medic-nin walked away. _'I wonder if she talks all the time at home, too? I wonder what Sasuke thinks about that?'_ She chuckled at the thought of Sakura talking off Sasuke's ear. _Nonetheless, I need to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. A nap sounds nice...'_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hiashi-sama, you requested to be informed if Hanabi-sama returned."

"Yes," Hiashi said turning from his window to look at the servant.

"Hanabi-sama has returned, Hiashi-dono. She is in her room." The man kept his forehead to the ground, though he looked up at his lord with his byakugan.

"I shall see Hanabi-sama. You are dismissed. Leave me." Hiashi ordered. _'So you have decided to return...'_ He swept out of his chamber, ignoring startled gasps from servants. He stopped outside his younger daughter's room, suddenly unsure, a strange feeling to him. Shaking off the unsettling emotions, he opened the door. His eyes quickly took in the piles of clothes everywhere as well as the two large bags sitting on the futon with Hanabi kneeling next to them, stuffing them with clothes.

"What are you doing Hanabi?" He asked as he stepped into the room, his temper suddenly flaring. "I thought you were abandoning the clan, never to return."

"Ha. You'll never see me again after this. Just like you'll never see Hinata ever again." She said in smug anger.

His temper getting the best of him, he grabbed her hair and forced her to her feet. "How dare you mention that filth in front of your lord? Has that woman so twisted your mind against me?"

"No _Father._ You have done that to yourself. It is you own fault that everyone is abandoning you." Hanabi said in defiance as tears streaked down her cheeks at his hold on her hair. "Hinata is happy with Neji! She smile and laughs now! She isn't the same person she was four years ago. Her life might have been hard, but she's happy! And she is going to have a baby! I want what she's found, something that the Hyuga can never give me! Let me decide what I want, not what the clan wants. Let me be my own person with my own life, planned by me!" She grabbed his hand and forced him to release his grip on her hair. "If you don't want to lose everything, you should start trying to care. I know that would be difficult but you have to try! Start with Hinata. She was devastated when she was banished because she loves you and never wanted to hurt you, she just wanted to make her own choices. And didn't you say once that Neji's byakugan is the strongest that have ever been? The child Hinata carries will have the same power, but can never be heir because what you have done. You have alienated everyone from you that cares about you. You will die a bitter man, Father, and you won't have my pity or Hinata's because we know that it is you own fault!" She quickly stuffed what was left of her clothes into the bags, grabbed them and rushed out the door.

Hiashi stood there in shock at what his younger daughter had said. "What I want, not what the clan wants. What _I_ want, not what the clan expects from me." He turned on his heal and quickly made his way to the council chambers, several servants following, wanting to see what Hyuga-sama was in such a rush to do. He grabbed a piece of parchment, a brush and ink then started writing haphazardly, his letter finished within a minute. He placed his signature at the bottom and his seal beneath it.

"You, servant." He said, looking up. "Call the council. We will meet in twenty minutes and any not in this room by then will be barred from the meeting. Go!" He sat there taking several calming breaths, still thinking about what Hanabi had said. _'It takes a tongue lashing from my younger daughter to see what a fool I have been, and hopefully within the hour all those wrongs I've committed will be set right.'_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hopefully Father isn't too mad. I gave him quite a tongue lashing," Hanabi said thoughtfully as she munched on the late lunch Hinata had prepared. "You should have been there! His face was the most beautiful color of puce." She sighed dreamily. "Maybe he'll let me do that again soon. It was so much fun."

"I think it is a better idea to leave him alone for a long time. You never know when he might go off again. Today Tsunade-sama was going after me for making him upset. We should just leave him be. Now, what do you want to do today? Neji shouldn't be home until dark." Hinata said as she cleaned up the kitchen.

"We should rearrange the baby's room! Maybe get some painting done... and we can fix up my bed." Hanabi grinned.

"And here I was thinking that a nap would be good," Hinata dryly commented.

"You can take a nap after, while I fix supper." Hanabi wagged her finger at her sister. "Come on, Hinata! It'll be fun! Come on!" Hanabi yelled, pulling her sister to her feet. "You know, ever since you got pregnant you have been very lazy. We need to cure you of that."

"It's my right to be lazy. Having to carry around fifteen extra pounds can take its toll on a person. Especially if those fifteen pounds are resting right on your bladder. Ah, well, only four more months to go then we will be able to meet this little one. I wonder whom you'll act like? Me, or your father? Or maybe your aunt Hanabi?" She whispered, rubbing her hands lightly over her belly.

"Okay, Freakshow. Stop talking to the belly. It's creepy, and slightly off," Hanabi muttered as she put her dirty dishes in the sink.

"Hanabi, one day you will understand," Hinata laughed as she drew her sister into her arms. "We need to start talking about names. If it's a boy, we will name him Hizashi, but if it is a girl... We haven't come up with a good name yet. Maybe you would think about it, too?"

"Of course! I'd love to! Name her Hanabi! It's the best name ever!" Hanabi giggled.

"Even better than Hinata?" Hinata's lower lip started trembling, whether in sadness or in an attempt not to laugh, Hanabi couldn't tell.

"Well..." Hanabi said, unable to resist.

"Evil little sister," Hinata said affectionately, releasing her.

"Evil older sister." Hanabi said with equal affection, leading them to both start laughing. "I really did miss you when you left. I should have followed you but I was afraid of what Dad might do. Too bad I hadn't realized that he was just a cranky old man going through PMS."

"Hanabi!" Hinata said in shock. "He was clearly going through ten years worth."

Hanabi laughed, throwing her arms around her sister. "If only Dad could hear us now."

"He would have grounded both of us just for laughing too loudly." Hinata made a face.

"Yeah," Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we need to get to work or nothing will ever get done. Plus, I'm supposed to meet Konohamaru at Ichiraku for supper so I want to get as much done as we can."

"Yes, miss slave driver. We will get to work," Hinata said sarcastically, pulling away from her sister.

She bent down and pulled out various cleaning supplies, handing them to her younger sister, a happy smile playing on her face as Hanabi gave her a weird look and walked to the back bedroom. Hinata gave a low chuckle as she followed her sister, wondering if Hanabi thought that she was getting weirder by the moment.

The room was bare except for the half put together crib and changing table sitting in the middle of the room.

"Neji needs to get busy and finish putting this stuff together," Hanabi muttered.

"If you hadn't noticed, he's recovering from nearly _dying_. I'll give him some credit." Hinata said with a smile.

"Whatever," Hanabi rolled her eyes at the silly smile on Hinata's face. "I'll still call him a slacker."

"You so that and see what he says." Hinata said, going over to the room's window and opening it.

"I will. Where do you want me to start?"

"The window needs help," Hinata sighed, pulling a cobweb off the screen. "As does the ceiling." She muttered, glancing up. "I'm going to do the base boards." She decided, slowly sitting on the floor.

They both set out to their respective job, neither speaking until Hanabi suddenly said, "Himeko."

"Himeko?" Hinata repeated in a question. "What's that?"

"The name of your daughter. Himeko. The princess child." Hanabi grinned at her own cleverness.

"Himeko," Hinata said again, letting the word roll off her tongue. "It's perfect! Thanks Hanabi!" She cried as she stood and threw her arms around her sister.

"I always knew I was good for something. Now I know," Hanabi raised her nose in the air. "I can pick out the perfect baby names. I wonder if people will pay me to name their children?" A thoughtful look came to her face.

Hinata snickered. "No."

"That hurt." Hanabi pouted.

"I'm sure," Hinata was still laughing as she went to answer the knocking at the door, thinking it was Lee and Neji. "Guess what," she said as she opened the door. "Hanabi named the baby Himeko! What do..." Her voice trailed off as she realized that it wasn't Neji or Lee at the door, but her father. "Hyuga-sama. To what do I owe this pleasure?" She said, bowing her head so he wouldn't see the tears that had sprang to her eyes or see that her breath was coming out in small gasps.

"Hinata," Hiashi whispered, the emotions of happiness and completeness coming up and choking him.

"Why are you here?! Leave us alone!" Hanabi yelled from the bedroom doorway, partially hidden from view.

"Hinata, if I may, speak with you?" Hiashi asked in an uncertain voice, odd breaks in his words revealing how nervous he was to be there.

"Of course," she replied in just an uncertain voice, opening the door wider to give him access.

His eyes took in the sparse furnishings and peeling paint while his heart broke for the second time that day. He moved to stand in the middle of the room, ignoring the daggers being glared at him by his younger daughter. "Hinata," he said, turning to her.

She had crossed her arms over her chest, resting them on her swollen belly, making it look even bigger. He stared at her in shock; although he had heard about her pregnancy from Hanabi, it was still shocking to witness it in person.

"You didn't come here to gape at Hinata's stomach. Why are you here?" Hanabi's angry voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"No. I came here to ask for your forgiveness, Hinata, Hanabi. I have not been the father I should have been."

"You think that you can come over here and just say meaningless words and everything will work out like you want it?! The world doesn't revolve around you! Leave us alone!" Hanabi yelled angrily as Hinata just stared at her father.

"Hanabi." The pain in Hyuga Hiashi's voice was enough for Hinata to silence her sister with a look.

"Although she said it very rudely, Hanabi does have a point. You can't just come over and expect us to fall at your feet." Hinata said in a level voice, watching her father's face closely.

"I know." He looked at his older daughter in sorrow. "Hinata, there are so many things I would do differently if I could. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me? You and Neji have suffered the most from my actions and now, not as the head of the Hyuga clan, but as a simple man, I beg for your forgiveness." He bent down, kneeling with his head pressed to the floor.

Hinata stood frozen at her father's words, replaying them in her head over and over. Finally she came to her decision.

"Father," she whispered, kneeling down next to him. "Please do not bow to me. I am nothing compared to you. Please don't bow to me." Tears pooled in the corners or her eyes as her father sat up.

"Hinata, as of today you are officially my heir again, and your child will be heir after you, though I do have a condition," he gave her a small smile, his face not accustom to such an expression.

"You are begging for forgiveness and yet you put a condition on her. How like you," Hanabi said sarcastically.

"My condition is that Hinata and Neji must wed. The Hyuga have never had an illegitimate heir and I do not want my grandchild to bear the burden of being the first." Hiashi looked at Hanabi then at Hinata. "Will you accept this? Hinata, I know that I would deserve it if you refuse, but I want our family to become whole again. I will leave you now to think about my words."

He bowed his head to his elder daughter as the younger went to the door and opened it, revealing a surprised Lee and a suddenly angry Neji.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"The sun is glorious today," Lee sighed happily.

"Yes," Neji leaned on his crutch and looked up at the sky. "It is a beautiful day, though it would be better if I could walk without this crude walking stick."

"Now, now, Neji. You must not push yourself to hard or you will get worse, not better. I am quite sure that Hinata would not be pleased if you get worse. She already has enough to deal with without you doing something stupid." Lee scolded.

"Yes, Mother," Neji stuck out his tongue. "I know. Seriously Lee, you should stop taking Sakura's perky pills."

"Sakura takes pills?" Lee repeated in shock.

"_Perky pills_." Neji sighed, knowing that Lee wouldn't understand the joke even if he explained it, though he tried. "She's been annoying me to death with how happy and perky and _sickeningly_ sweet she acts. It's like she forgot all the other emotions." He sighed and said, "I need to get home. I'm already late. Hinata is going to have a fit."

"Yes. We must keep Hinata happy!" Lee cried. "Do you think that she has supper ready?"

"Not for you, for _me_. Doesn't Tenten feed you?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but she is not the cook Hinata is. Please, Neji? Let me stay for supper?" Lee asked with stars in his eyes.

"Lee, if you are so concerned with your stomach, learn to cook. It would please Tenten and impress Gai. I'm sure if you are really devoted to learning Hinata might be willing to teach you, but you have to ask her. Beg really. The art of cooking is a secret that the Hyuga teach very few." Neji sent a sideway look at his friend and see that he believed every word he had spoken. _'Lee, I respect you like a brother, but you are so gullible that I'm sure that I could tell you the sky is green and you would believe me.'_

"Come on, Lee. I can move faster than you and my leg doesn't like to work! Plus there will be food..." Neji called, ten steps ahead of his friend.

"Yes!" Lee suddenly clenched his hand into a fist. "We must not let Hinata's cooking go to waste! Come Neji! We must hurry!"

'_And here I was telling him the same thing five seconds ago. Hopefully Hinata won't be mad I bribed Lee with food. Oh well. Maybe...'_ Neji's thoughts were cut off when Lee grabbed his arm and pulled him up the two flights of stairs to his apartment.

"Jeez, Lee. Did you have to do that?" Neji sighed, trying to catch his breath.

"You where the one complaining that we were not going fast enough." Lee reached for the door and pulled back in surprise when it opened from the inside. Neji had expected Hinata to be standing in the doorway, but was instead greeted with Hiashi's unsmiling face.

Anger surfed through him as he pushed Lee away. "What are you doing here?!" He exploded. "How dare you come here! Leave us alone!"

He brushed past his uncle and saw that Hinata was sitting on the floor, wide eyed. "Hinata? Are you okay?" He whispered as he awkwardly lowered himself to the floor. "Did he hurt you in any way?" His fingers brushed over her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"Neji." Her voice was barely audible. She looked up into his face, a new wave of tears pouring from her eyes. "Neji," she said again, this time a bit louder. "Father wants to make me Heir again." Her voice was uncertain as she said those words. Her gaze dropped from his to her hand, resting on her large belly.

"Neji, our child will be the head of the Hyuga when he is ready. We will be able to change the clan like it needs. We will be what we were born to be." Her voice was shaking as she said the last words.

"Are you sure you want this for our child? The pain of being a member of the main house, its _Heir_? Do you want that, Hinata? The same pain and suffering that you had growing up? The same pain I had?"

"I want our clan to be whole again, Neji. Our child is special. Born to the soon to be head and a branch family member? We can change the clan for the _better, _Neji." She smiled softly, her decision clear in her eyes.

He watched her take a deep breath then smile. She got to her feet and walked over to her father who had watched the whole scene play out. _'Hinata, I hope that this is not a mistake. We have both been on the receiving end of Hiashi' wrath before with disastrous results.'_

"Neji," Hanabi muttered softly, crouching at his side. "We must trust in Hinata's decision, for she is the only one who can make it. We are only observers in this," she placed her hand on his arm and helped him to his feet.

"You're right. Hinata has suffered with all of this," Neji sighed, closing his eyes. "It is the best for her." His eyes opened and found his very confused teammate's. "Now, Lee was looking forward of one of Hinata's masterpiece meals. What do you say about us starting the cooking for her?"

"I say that you are a hopeless cook and I will help you not to mess up our food too much." Hanabi muttered wryly.

"Jeez, I feel so loved." He said sarcastically as he watched Hiashi bow to Hinata before going out the door. Lee stood next to it with a confused look on his face as it closed with a click.

"Neji? Do I still get supper?" Lee asked, making the three Hyuga laugh.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Supper had been quite an experience with Lee trying to eat everything with one chopstick as some crazy condition he had placed on himself. Hinata didn't know if there ever was a time when she had laughed harder or when she had such a light feeling in her heart.

"That was certainly entertaining," she said happily as she got ready for bed.

"Yeah," Neji grumbled sarcastically. "Only having Gai there would have made it better," he said wryly.

"Oh, come one, Neji. It was fun. Admit it. You had a good time." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his chest, embracing him from the back.

He stood frozen, her belly pressed against his back, making him aroused. "Hinata," he moaned, pulling her around to face him. Between his injuries and her pregnancy, they hadn't made love in almost six months and suddenly he was feeling it.

"What is it, Neji?" Her eyebrow was raised and he was quite sure that she knew what was wrong.

"You know what you're doing to me?" He whispered, pressing her bare forehead against hers.

"I can imagine, though you aren't going to get lucky," she smiled as she kissed him.

"So mean," he said, pulling back from her.

"Neji, are you mad at me?" She asked softly.

"Why would I be?" He rolled his eyes.

"My father?"

"Oh. That," he turned and limped over to their bed. "Hinata, I love you more than life itself. If this is what you want, than I will support your decision."

"Neji!" She squealed, rushing over to hug him again.

"What? Did you really think that I'd let you go back there without me by your side? Do you really think that lowly of me?" He pouted.

"Of course not. But I did think you would protest more," she frowned.

"I'm a pretty flexible guy." He grinned.

"Not that flexible. I mean, you got pretty well worked over not that long ago." She stuck out her tongue.

"Hinata," he moaned, grabbing her and pulling her down onto the bed. He gently pressed his head to her belly. "The heir of the clan, huh?"

"Yeah," she stroked her fingers through this hair. "Neji, Father did place a condition on us."

"What?" He sighed, not surprised.

"He said we have to get married. He doesn't want his grandchild born illegitimate. He said that the Hyuga have never had an illegitimate heir and he doesn't want this child to bear the burden of being the first." She explained.

"I guess that I can live with that." He started laughing.

"What?" She prompted.

"You'll still be Hyuga Hinata either way. It just struck me as funny." He laughed.

They both jumped when Hanabi knocked on the door and yelled, "I'm _trying_ to sleep here!"

"You could have gone home with your father if you wanted quiet!" Neji yelled back at her. Silence greeted him as a reply, making Hinata start laughing, which Neji joined in. "Is this our happy ending?" He asked, kissing her belly.

She looked down at him and smiled. "Yes."

* * *

Well, this is the last chapter, with next week being the epilogue. I hope you enjoyed, and as always, review.


	5. Epilogue, Serenade

Sonata of the Night

Disclaimer: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris? Naruto is also copyrighted Chuck Norris. Don't ask why, just accept.

* * *

**Epilogue: Serenade**

The light music played throughout the court yard, the stars twinkling down on the reception.

"Congratulations, Hinata-sama." Yet another person Hinata had never seen before gripped her hand.

"Thank you," Hinata said, quickly glancing around, looking for her husband. _'Neji, where did you go? You had better get back here quickly_.' She though as she turned to the next person in line. "Sakura!" She exclaimed. "How are you doing?"

"Only about two weeks more and we'll get to meet this little one, though I wouldn't mind and early delivery." She muttered, elbowing her husband that was standing behind her.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Sasuke replied. "My pregnancy cravings are getting worse and worse. I don't know how I can go two more weeks."

Hinata burst out laughing as Sakura punched her husband on the shoulder. "That's very sad, Sasuke. I wish I could help." Hinata snorted.

"Anyway," Sakura said dramatically, "Congratulations! I always knew everything would work out for you!" She cried. "But where is your husband?"

"I've been wondering that same thing myself. Maybe you could help me out by distracting my guests?" Hinata raised an eyebrow.

Sakura glanced around and grinned while Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Oh!" Sakura yelled, her hand going to her forehead as she collapsed.

Sasuke gave Hinata an annoyed look before kneeling next to his wife and calmly calling for help.

Hinata suppressed a laugh as she snuck away, everyone watching Sakura and Sasuke. She entered the house, ignoring the servants that saw her and gasped.

Five minutes later she opened the door to a room tucked away form the rest of the house and heard her husband's voice murmuring to a bundle he held in his arms.

"You're missing the party," she whispered, coming up behind him and smiling at him and their son.

"The party in here is much better." He commented, giving her a silly grin.

"So what were my men discussing when I came in?" She asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"How beautiful our wife and mother are, and how we love the way your hair looks, how the smile on your face makes your eyes sparkle, how you seem to be glowing." He grinned.

"That's because my best men are here supporting me, or not so it seems." She muttered.

He smiled, standing so he could put their son back into his bed. She moved over to stand next to him. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the nape of her neck. "Hinata, I love you so much it sometimes hurts."

"Hum, I can tell. Like you leaving me out there while you were in here, where I much rather have been." She muttered.

"It's almost time for him to wake up. He'll want to eat," Neji said, avoiding replying to her comments.

"I know. That's why I had Sasuke and Sakura stage a distraction so I could leave," she said superiorly.

"That was very devious of you. I like this new Hinata." Neji grinned.

"Ha, ha, ha. Maybe you'll see her more often. She might have to punish her husband."

"Really?" He asked, raising his head so their lips were inches from touching. "I might like that," he said softly, his lips claiming hers. They stood like that for several moments before she pulled away.

"I wonder if they have noticed that I'm missing yet?" She said, the rest of her thought cut off as her son woke and started crying.

She smiled down at the baby, taking her month old son into her arms. "What's the matter? Are you hungry? You have definitely got one of the best sets of lungs ever. Yes you do," she cooed as she sat down and pulled open her top so he could sickle.

"He's hungry, poor boy." Neji shook his head. "Don't you ever feed him?"

"Of course I don't; he feeds himself. Impressive, I know." She said dryly.

"Hinata is acting very strange. Maybe her brain has been taken over by some strange something or other," he frowned.

"Lost your train of thought." She shook her head.

"Yeah. Was it that obvious?" He pouted.

"Very much so. You should stick to slapstick jokes with Hanabi as the punch line." Hinata giggled.

"Poor Hanabi. She's such an easy target." Neji sighed.

Hinata shook her head again as she finished nursing their now sleeping son and stood to set him in his crib. "How did you convince your mother to leave him?" She asked as she stroked the baby's brow.

"Easy. I told her she needed to go out to the party."

"You talk about me being diabolical." She sighed, looking him in the eye.

"Yes, I do." He grinned, drawing her into his arms for a kiss. The kiss deepened as he gently pushed her against the wall. "What do you say to us abandoning the party altogether?"

"Hum," she murmured, her hands clenching the front of his robe. "I think it sounds lovely." Her eyes closed as she pulled her in for another kiss.

"Father sends me to find you two and here you are with the intent to make a sibling for Hizashi!" Hanabi screeched from the doorway.

"Yeah, you're one to talk. I saw you making out with Konohamaru." Hinata pulled away from Neji as she whispered, "Later," into Neji's ear which caused him to grin.

"Whatever," Hanabi muttered, turning to go.

"Hanabi," Neji called.

"What?"

"Can you go find my mother? We can't leave Hizashi all alone."

"Sure, whatever." She rolled her eyes at him before disappearing.

"It must be hard to be a teenager," he said, then he turned back to his wife. "I got rid of her." He chuckled softly.

"Yes, you did. Just what are you suggesting?" Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this is later, isn't it?" He grinned.

"Yes, but there is an audience. I don't do audiences." She said smugly.

"You are just being evil, aren't you?"

"Diabolical." She replied.

He threw back his head and laughed. Hizashi jerked like he might wake up before settling back down in his nap. Neji glanced at his son before claiming Hinata's lips again, his hands running up and down her sides. "I love this evil Hinata. Why haven't I seen her before?"

"I think she and Hizashi were a packaged deal. You couldn't get one without the other."

"Then it was the best deal of my life. A son and a slightly evil wife." He smiled.

"Whatever," she said aloft, sounding much like her younger sister.

He laughed again as she pulled her toward the door, hearing Hanabi and his mother's voices in the hall. "If I have to endure the party, I'm glad that it's with you."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"That was a horrid party. So you are the head of the family now. B-i-g deal." Hanabi complained.

"Just think of it as training. We all have to do things we don't like, Hanabi." Hinata replied. "Besides, the party wasn't just to recognize me as head, but in acknowledgment of my wedding and Hizashi's birth."

"Yeah, they all go together but most people thought that you and Neji had been married for a while and Hizashi's birth was celebrated the day he was born." Hanabi stuck out her tongue.

"You're just complaining because father found you and Konohamaru in a compromising position." Hinata sighed.

"What was so compromising? Seriously, he was just kissing me!" She threw her hands up in aspiration.

"If you remember, Neji got banished for helping me into bed."

"With the intent to bed you or had you forgotten?" Hanabi groaned.

"It still ended up happening," Hinata said thoughtfully.

"And you got yourself banished, too. Or did you forget about that one?" Hanabi frowned.

"Of course not, but it did work out in the end," Hinata smiled softly.

"Did you drink something?" Hanabi made a weird hissing sound.

"Nope. Took one of Sakura's happy pills." Hinata grinned.

Hanabi gave her a suspicious look. "Hinata?" She started then paused.

"Yes?"

"Can you get dad off Konohamaru? I mean, He's watching him like a hawk. I just want to go out with my boyfriend without dad being there. Please?" Hanabi pleaded.

"I'm sure that Father can have some better things to do on those nights. Maybe he can babysit his favorite grandchild." The new Hyuga head said with a grin.

Hanabi snorted and stated, "Hizashi is his only grandchild."

"And Father wants to make sure that you don't give him a grandchild as well." Hinata said.

"Father has a sick mind if he thinks I'm going to do that. Your bad example was good enough for me to decide that it's not worth it." Hanabi groaned.

Hinata gave her sister a sad look before hugging her. "It isn't worth it. But it happened and we can't go back and change it. We can only go forward."

"Yeah, it worked out in the end, though. You have Neji and Hizashi, and now you are the Head of the Hyuga clan." Hanabi nodded.

Hinata smiled at her younger sister then pulled away, noticing a very nervous looking ninja in the courtyard.

"What is it?" She called, quickly making her way over to him.

"Hinata-sama?" He asked.

"Yes, I am she." Hinata responded.

"I have a message from the Hokage," he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.

Hinata took it, her brows knitting together se she read the message. When she came to the end of it, she laughed.

"Good news?" Hanabi asked, trying to read the message over her sister's shoulder.

"Sakura sent this, didn't she?" Hinata questioned the ninja.

"Yes, Hinata-sama." He said bashfully, causing Hinata to laugh again.

"At least it's in Tsunade's writing to it technically is from the Hokage," she said thoughtfully as she handed the note to her sister. "Thank you," she smiled at the ninja who blushed and quickly left.

"That's it?" Hanabi let out a growl as she came to the end of the note. "Sakura is so going to get it!"

"What's who going to get? Who's who?" Neji asked as he came up behind the sisters.

"Sakura had her baby. It's a girl, named Mikoto after Sasuke's mother. Also she wanted to send you a message that she has decided to lay off the perky pills." Hinata summarized the note for him.

"Thank goodness. I wouldn't have wanted her to keep taking those things. Sasuke probably threatened to leave her if she didn't." Neji stuck out his tongue.

"Probably, though he was playing along with the whole thing just fine last night at the party." Hinata responded.

"You two are the strangest people on the planet!" Hanabi cried, turning to run away.

"Poor Hanabi. Quit being to mean to her," Hinata punched Neji's arm.

"What did I do?" Neji's face was molded into a look of pure innocence.

"Oh, never mind." She said with a smile.

"What is it, Hinata-sama?" He teased.

"I was just thinking that I'm one of the luckiest people, ever." She sighed happily.

"I would have to agree with that." He whispered in her ear. "Now all we have to worry about is giving Hizashi a sibling."

Hinata threw back her head and laughed as Neji joined her, their laugher like a sonata.

* * *

There, that was the end. I hope that you enjoyed it and as always, review. Next week I'll start posting Forsaken again. Thank you for reading.


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